


Freeze Out

by JessicaX



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Office, Bisexual Female Character, CEO, F/F, Female Protagonist, Female-Centric, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Elsa, Near Future, Office, Roommates, Sexual Harassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-15 06:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 94,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1295008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessicaX/pseuds/JessicaX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa Froiland has channelled every second of life into her vast empire, North Mountain Industries. One ten o'clock appointment will reveal that her position at the top of the heap isn't nearly as secure as she thought. Can she (and Anna's struggling little company) outfox the foxes? [Elsanna, Modern-AU, Office; T for "icest", maybe language]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Amalgamation

**Author's Note:**

> A Futuristic Fiduciary Frozen Fanfiction  
> Characters © Diznay and all their lot. Original story elements and/or settings ©2014 to myself.  
> NOTE: Rated T for the ElsAnna (icest). May progress past that at a later point, if I continue it on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I might do more with, might not, depending on if I have further ideas and/or there's any interest. I was sorely tempted to call this fic "401k Elsa Is Suffering", but thought that would only get me a thundering round of jeers. Never let it be said I can't exercise a bit of restraint! (SHUT UP LAUGHING ALL OF YOU CAKE FIC FANS) Quick apology to those with a deeper understanding of all to do with business/stock market than I have if I've made any mistakes; I tried my best to do research, which only confirmed that I haven't the head for business!

"Miss Froiland, your ten o'clock is here."

Elsa sighed irritably, tapping a few more lights on the panel in front of her. The floating pixels above the projector on the corner of her desk realigned into a new pattern which portrayed none of the sensitive stock figures and financial records they had before, instead coalescing into the snow-capped evergreen that served as their company logo. As it gently began to rotate, she tapped a small light on another panel and said, "Send them in, Karamelli."

Swiping her square-rimmed glasses from her nose, she glared at them as she leaned back in her rigid executive chair. Optic surgery was an outpatient procedure these days. Why had she never considered it seriously? Laziness? Wariness of so-called "medical professionals"? No. She knew why, and it irritated her but it was necessary. _No surgery._ There was no telling what they might find, poking around inside her body.

"OLAF," she announced to the room at large. "Espresso."

"Coming right up, ma'am!" said the cheery male voice of the integrated software. A beverage dispenser behind her began humming. For the fourteenth time, she mentally noted to have the voice tweaked to sound more dignified.

As she distantly heard the sound of the outer-office doors opening, she replaced her glasses and slipped her feet back into the black heels nestled beneath her SmartDesk. Time to "be the business," as the motivational book she had published stated.

A soft knock at the door. After debating for a moment, she picked up a thin stack of hard copy memos and shuffled them, purely to look busy. "Enter."

The door swung open. "Um… is this Elsa Froiland's office? Am I in the right place?"

"It is," Elsa said without looking up, laying the pages in her outbox. Slow steps sounded across the floor. She cleared her throat, folded her hands in the middle of the desk, looked up - and nearly lost her semblance of professionalism.

The lithe beauty couldn't be any older than twenty, but her deep-green trendy business suit with its barely-not-a-mini-skirt helped conceal her youth. Two thin braids on either side of her head that tied in the back kept her red hair from swinging completely free. Her round apple-cheeks were bunched into a completely earnest smile as she shifted her small electronic valise from one hand to the other so she could extend her right in greeting.

"Anna Snowman," she introduced herself nervously.

Normally, Elsa would have remained indifferent throughout the meeting, hoping to keep her opponent on the defensive. Instead, she found her hand was already clasping Anna's, pumping it up and down. The light squeeze on her fingers made her smile slightly against her better judgement, but then she reclaimed her senses and sat back, gesturing to the spare seat. "Please."

Anna sat, perching her valise on her knees and opening it. A few seconds later, it began to hum. "Thanks for seeing me, I know this is so last minute, but I was really hoping to-"

"Miss Snowden, I'm a very busy woman," Elsa cut her off. "Can we please skip the apologies?"

"Snow _man_ ," Anna corrected her quietly. "As in Snowman Home Robotics? You know… 'Do you wanna build a Snowma-'"

"I'm familiar with your firm and its popular slogan," Elsa sighed tiredly. That reminded her of her espresso, now ready and quietly cooling in the dispenser. She swiveled away. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"O-oh! I, um… juice, please."

Elsa nearly dropped the tiny mug, looking over her shoulder. "Did you ask me for _juice?"_

Still blinking in surprise at being asked, her cheeks took on a pink tinge as she whispered, "Um… a fruit-vegetable blend, if you have it? I, um, I don't process caffeine well."

Hiding a grin of disbelief, Elsa turned back to the machine and said, "OLAF; carrot-orange-pineapple juice."

"You got it, chief!" the computer voice chirruped.

"Wow," Anna giggled. "I like your AI."

"He's an idiot," Elsa sighed as she sipped at her espresso while watching the sunshine-hued substance fill the glass. "But he does the job flawlessly, so it wouldn't be cost-effective to retool him purely to make him less… perky. Much though I'd love to."

A slight warmth leached into the girl's voice as she said, "You call it a 'him'. That's sweet."

Pursing her lips, she retrieved the juice and passed it across the desk, which the girl took eagerly and sipped at as she spoke. "Now then, to business. You wanted to discuss the possible merger between Snowman and North Mountain Industries. As far as I'm aware, we're not hurting in the robotics department, so I'm wondering what your division might bring to the table, exactly."

"That's… well, I don't think you quite understand. I'm asking you _not_ to go through with the merger."

"You're asking…" Elsa set her mug down and stared at the girl. "Wait, I'm sorry. Why are you here?"

"I, uh, just told you?"

"If you're not interested in pursuing a merger, then why are we wasting our time?"

"Because _you_ are," Anna stated flatly, a suspicious look in her sparkling blue eyes. "Wh… I'm only here because I thought maybe, if I came in person, I could talk you out of it."

Elsa leaned forward on one elbow. "Listen, _Mizz_ Snowden. I only agreed to this meeting out of curiosity. It wouldn't be prudent to pass up a possibly lucrative venture simply because it didn't _seem_ to be profitable, but now you're telling me you don't even want it? I'm not much for games, so whatever you're playing, I am very disinterested."

"But-"

"On your way, please. Karamelli can validate your parking."

The two little ginger eyebrows knitting above her nose was such a cute gesture that it almost made Elsa smile, but she suppressed it. Weakness during business dealings could not be allowed to show through. "Miss Froiland… I, um, I thought you were the CEO of this company, I assumed you would know about the offers."

 _"What_ offers?" she demanded sharply.

Gulping, Anna thumbed the touch screen, sending a few things dancing about her projection display. A popup on Elsa's asked for confirmation of data transfer from a previously unknown user. Debating for a moment, Elsa accepted.

Minutes passed as she took in what she was seeing. The milk and sugar she always added to her espresso began curdling in her stomach. "No…"

"So you… really didn't know about this?"

Elsa wished there was a way she could more gracefully declare that she had been completely unaware of this situation without making her sound inept, unfit to hold her position. There wasn't. "I did not."

"That 'Winter Consortium' has been buying up our stock from our shareholders for months. I only just found out a few days ago that all of its members sit on _your_ executive board."

"They have a large enough share to buy it out from under you." She thumbed a few more things, scanned down rows of numbers and lists of names, but it only confirmed her fears instead of assuaging them. "It's a hostile takeover in the… most underhanded way."

"Miss Froiland," Anna began in a practiced, would-be professional voice if not for the nervousness tinging it, "Our company has been a thriving part of the city of Arendopolis ever since my father, Colin Arendelle, and my mother, Alicia Snowman, first took it public twenty years ago. They have built a strong and solid foundation, giving back to the community whenever possible, strengthening our economy… and we provide thousands of jobs to people who desperately need them. A merger would almost _certainly-"_

"Hush," Elsa whispered, but it still cut straight through Anna's speech and caused her to fall silent. "I'm… I have to think."

Minutes ticked by as Elsa studied the figures on her screen. It was unbelievable. No, it was unconscionable. And old Dick Weselton was chairman of that board, he had always been so kindly…

A quick search revealed things went far deeper. Not that she would be divulging this to her ten o'clock appointment, but there were several other pending buyouts that seemed particularly sudden, and not limited to robotics. Every industry was being targeted. Before long, this so-called Winter Consortium would have the entire city in its grip.

"I… don't know if I can stop it."

"Ma'am?" Anna asked hesitantly in a small voice.

"What? Sorry." But she when she glanced over at the girl briefly, almost purely to assure her that she hadn't gone randomly comatose, she was shocked to see wetness on her cheeks.

"This is my whole life, okay? All I have left is this company, I- with Mom and Dad gone, and my husband just left me for another woman, and it's- and I can't-"

Elsa gaped. No. Oh, _no._ This girl was about to start crying in the middle of her office. This was something she had never been prepared to deal with; none of her other investors or clients had cried. And goodness knows it had been literal _years_ since she'd been close enough to any friend or lover to be exposed to that sort of thing. Pity mingled with discomfort as she watched this bizarre event take place, and she tried to think of something to do.

"OLAF, tissues."

"Huh? I don't know that one, ma'am."

She'd never programmed him to retrieve tissues. Why would she have? She wasn't running a therapist's couch. Gritting her teeth, she spun and began rummaging through one of her drawers until she came up with a travel-sized sachet, which she ripped open unceremoniously and offered to her blubbering guest.

"Th-thank you," Anna hiccuped, blowing her nose. Then she took a few deep breaths, rolling back her emotions. "It's… I haven't been sleeping. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Elsa said numbly, then shook herself. "Now… I'm not sure what I can tell you at this point, other than that I am very sorry. This was nothing I was aware of; of course, I have given the board leeway to pursue lucrative ventures, but these sort of tactics… they're not what I've tried to practise here at North Mountain, I hope you know that."

Anna stared at her for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I believe you."

Elsa blinked. "You do? I wouldn't if I were in your seat."

"No, it's… you're not a bad person. I can tell."

A stirring filled Elsa's heart at that. She looked down at the partly-empty pack of tissues and felt heat in her own cheeks. It was probably the grandest act of generosity toward a fellow human she had personally done in a long while. "It's… you don't get much opportunity to be a good person in my line of work, Miss Snowman."

Anna nodded vaguely, blowing her nose again and dabbing at her eyes, trying not to force her mascara to run. Not that she needed any in the first place. "You said my name right that time."

"What? Oh." Elsa tried to shrug, but the motion came off jerky. "Sometimes it takes me a while to remember names."

"Sorry. I'm really sorry, I just… well." She cleared her throat. "Since you're the CEO, though, can't you, um, veto their proposal?"

"Indeed. This one will probably come across my desk in a few days in the guise of a normal buyout, and I will veto it, but… they'll remain shareholders. And regardless of acquisition of the company, they can start pulling their stock. You'll be nearly bankrupt by the end of the month."

Anna rubbed the end of her nose. "We had a bad quarter last year, and I was forced to sell off a lot of my personal stock. It's… there isn't much left of 'my' company that's truly mine."

Elsa considered that for a few moments. "I have a friend who could help us."

"Huh?"

"Sven Kristofferson. He runs a transport company and he owes me a few favours. This would mean calling in most of them, but-" She glanced around the room, hair on the back of her neck prickling. "OLAF, sweep."

The machine began to hum to life. One of Anna's shapely eyebrows hiked upward. "You're cleaning your office _now?"_

"Shh." About thirty seconds passed with nothing but a transitioning hum. Then the lights began flickering to and fro, and a look of fear passed over the young entrepreneur's features. When everything settled down, Elsa whispered, "Okay, we're clear."

"Clear of _what?!"_

"Listening devices." She made a vague gesture that encompassed the whole room. "If this consortium my board has cooked up is really doing things like buying out businesses without my knowledge or approval, I wouldn't put it past them to plant a bug or two."

Anna's eyes were round as saucers, and despite their situation, Elsa felt herself smile slightly. "Y-you… no, that stuff doesn't really happen, does it? Only in holo-movies."

"I found one in another sweep." Ignoring the frightened squeak, she leaned in again. "If I asked Sven to intercept a few of those shares the company is bidding on… he could put them directly in my hands instead of the board's. I could then sell them back to you. At a profit, naturally."

"At a profit? But you said…" Anna's face fell. "No, it's not right for me to expect you to do this for free. I'm sorry, that wasn't fair."

"A _small_ profit," Elsa amended ruefully. Why was she being so nice to this girl? Was it purely to save face because board members who were supposed to be keeping her in the loop were doing dealings like this behind her back? "A fair one, not an astronomically high one like those bastards are angling for. If I turn around and sell it to you and merely break even, I'll be mocked in every jet-setting circle from here to Beijing."

Anna began to tremble again, but she wasn't crying. "But what if… what if I can't raise the funds to buy the stock back? We're doing much better this year, but still not what you'd call 'flush'." Then she laughed. "And Hans got everything in the divorce. I'm sleeping on my office couch. I don't even have a home anymore; Snowman Robotics _is_ my home."

This sob story couldn't be true. It was too fantastical, too bleak… but there didn't seem to be a dishonest bone in this young woman's curvy little body. "Come now, you could at least rent a hotel room."

"Hotel rooms don't come cheap!" Then she waved her hand back and forth. "B-but anyway, I… I dunno, I have some holdings in other companies I can cash in… my 401k… government bonds. Mother's old jewellery. We can make it happen, I'm sure."

"Good." Elsa felt more than regretful about pushing forward past this unpleasantness, but she was unsure she could handle another outburst of emotion from this overtaxed young head of a floundering business. "Then I'll, um, I'll give Sven a call tomorrow." When Anna's face crumpled again, she hastily said, "Today! I'll call him today."

Anna looked up blearily. "Y'know, I watched Mother run this business for so long, I… I thought I was ready, but when the cancer took her, it… was too early, and I mean, I know I was technically old enough to take the reins, b-but I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I mean, it's still all theory to me from business school, and I'm putting it into practice when I've barely graduated, and I… and how am I supposed to handle all this? How am I supposed to run something I can just barely understand?"

"Enough," Elsa grunted. "Feeling sorry for yourself won't teach you how to be a better businesswoman. Learn by doing." Anna nodded as she sighed. "You don't have _anywhere_ to stay? Don't you have any friends?"

"No. Most of my friends were Hans's friends. When I said he got everything in the divorce, I meant them, too." She smiled blearily. "This is what my life has come to! Sleeping on a couch, until the consortium kicks me off that, too!"

"Oh, don't be stupid. You'll stay with me."

Elsa had been thumbing through the records on her display again when she said that, but then she felt her entire body go rigid when her brain caught up. What did she just say?

"Wh… what did you just say?" Seemed they both had the same reaction.

"I…" How could she back out of it now? There was no way to do so without sounding like a complete and total bitch. "Well, my suite has a guest room that hardly ever sees any use. I'll expect you to pay a negligible amount of rent, of course; I'm not running a flophouse."

"Live with you?" Anna said in a hushed voice. "But… oh God, I must sound so pathetic, I'm sorry, I- you don't have to take pity on me like that!"

"Have to keep an eye on you while we out-trick the tricksters, don't I?" Even to her own ears, this was far friendlier than Elsa was used to treating anyone. What was it about this girl?

Partly, it was that she was beautiful. Elsa couldn't deny that it was a factor; her lightly-freckled skin shone through even her heavy concealer, and her honest demeanor and effervescence was too cute. In all the time she spent swimming with the sharks on Wall Street, it was nice to find one innocent dolphin.

Also… she hated to let this possibility through into her conscious mind, but she knew it to be true. She hated living alone. Living with people was almost as maddening as living alone, so she had never made it a point to keep her romantic affiliations around for long. Perhaps it might be nice to simply have a roommate for once, especially since this was sure to be a temporary arrangement.

Even so… there was another _something._ One she couldn't put her finger on.

"You… I don't know if I can accept that," Anna was babbling, putting down the juice glass she had drained a moment before. "W-we barely know each other, and it's so generous- and I don't even know where it is! What if it's way on the other side of town, and it'll make my commute hell? What if-"

"It's one floor up," Elsa chuckled, feeling the warmth of her own smile and being stunned that it existed. "Think you can get all the way there from here?"

Anna thought furiously, standing up and pacing. "Well… okay, so it only took me a ten minute airway hop to get here from the office, but… geez, you can't really want me living with you! I'm a total slob, and I hog the covers, and I like loud music when nobody's around, and-"

"Wait, wait," Elsa laughed louder. "Why would I care about you hogging the covers when you'll have your own set of them to hog?!"

"O-oh, yeah," Anna muttered, then giggled at her own stupidity. "Well, you gotta understand, the last person I lived with was my ex-husband; he was always complaining about it."

"If we start sleeping together, I think the covers will be the last thing we're worried about," Elsa snorted as she pushed her chair back and stood, straightening her own pinstriped blue suit as she did so. Belatedly, her insinuation came back to her, but she knew if she barrelled ahead it wouldn't be problematic. "Er, shall I escort you upstairs to see if it's to your liking?"

Fumbling with her valise, Anna trailed after the CEO as they passed through the outer office. The burly man at the desk was instructed to hold all calls, and he nodded, deep chocolate eyes following Anna's every move.

"So," Elsa said as the elevator zipped them upstairs. "Do you… have references?"

"References? OH - for the rental agreement! How stupid, I can't believe I didn't think about it, I-"

"Shhh," Elsa snickered. "Stop apologising for everything, you'll give yourself a stroke. I was joking, of course. It's up to the tenant whether or not they set up a sub-tenant contract. What say we see where we are at the start of next month before we tie everything up with legality?"

"Um…"

The elevator doors swished open, but neither of them moved. "Yes?"

"I, uh…" Anna cleared her throat and muttered, "I really like your hair."

"Excuse me?"

"Your hair," she said in an even softer voice. "It's such a soft gold-white, and a killer style, and it… man, I wish my hair looked like that. Ever since I walked into your office, I couldn't stop thinking about it, but there's no easy way to say that to somebody during a business meeting, is there?"

Again, she felt her face warming. "W-well, I… thank you, Miss Snowman."

"Anna."

"Anna." A thrill shot through her when she said the name. Its shape felt very natural in her mouth, as if she'd said it many times before.

The elevator door slid shut again. Giggling, Anna leaned forward and thumbed it open. "S-sorry."

"No, it's fine." Elsa self-consciously smoothed down a strand of her hair. "After you."

As Elsa followed Anna down the hallway, watching her plump rear filling out the back of her skirt as it sashayed from side to side with her steps, the feeling that she might be making the worst kind of mistake settled over her like a cloak of warning.

"Left," she whispered when they came to a branch. At the door, Elsa thumbed the printpad, and once it clicked, she said, "OLAF, record new print."

"Ready!" the machine piped up. "State print identity."

Taking her hint, Anna pressed her thumb to the plate and said her name.

"Welcome, Anna! Any friend of Elsie's is a friend of mine!"

She laughed again. "That's hilarious!"

"Yes," Elsa grumbled. "A riot. And if I ever catch _you_ calling me 'Elsie,' I'll ensure you regret it; I can't get him to say it right no matter how much I try…"

The wide open, voluminous living room was sparsely decorated with chaise lounges and settees, all of them varying shades of white and off-white, with an enormous white skin rug in the center of the hardwood flooring. A flatscreen hung over a real fireplace, and art decorated the other walls. The outer wall was entirely made of glass, but Venetian blinds shaded them from the midday sun.

"It's imitation," she told Anna as she pushed the door shut behind her, catching her horrified look. "No polar bears were harmed in the making of my carpets."

"N-no, I- doesn't matter," she half-lied, embarrassed. Then she looked around again. "This is all so gorgeous… you don't really want to share it with me, do you?"

"No, but I don't _mind_ sharing it," she corrected with a smirk. "You'll be through here."

Elsa's room led off the wall by the fireplace, being that it had one of its own that used the same flue. On its opposite side was the open kitchen with a bar and several stools, and past that two guest rooms and the main lavatory. They stopped at the first door, and Elsa turned the brass knob and opened it.

" _Oh,_ " Anna breathed as she crossed over the threshold, taking in the cozy beige-and-brown theme, the antique cherry-wood furniture. "I- oh, Elsa, it's so charming; I assumed it would be white like the living room, all sterile, but this is homey and warm…"

"You know, I don't recall saying _you_ could use _my_ given name…"

Anna spun, hands over mouth. "God, I- I'm sorry, Miss Froiland, I'm-"

"Kidding, kidding," Elsa chuckled, running her hand along the dresser. "This piece, the one that completes the set… it cost me quite a lot to track it down."

"You can't want me in here! I'll probably wreck the place!" Gulping, she placed a delicate finger on the knob of one bedpost. "One time, I managed to break the flatscreen with a ball of yarn. Hans didn't speak to me for the rest of the day, not one word!"

"With a ball of-" Elsa held up a hand to forestall the explanations. "We all have freak accidents. Believe me, I've had a fair few."

"You have?"

At that, the CEO felt an uncomfortable lurch in her stomach. _No, don't say any more,_ she warned herself. "Oh, you know… not everyone can have perfect coordination every moment of the day." Clearing her throat, she said, "I don't cook, I order room service or takeout. Let me know well before dinnertime if you want any of what I'm having and get me the money for your portion; _no poaching off my plate."_

"What if I want to cook us dinner sometime?"

The uncomfortable lurch was of a completely different nature this time, one distinctly more giddy. "Y- you can cook, can you?"

Anna merely shrugged. "Um, n-not a whole lot of dishes, but there are four or five I mastered. Pancakes, and omelettes… oh, and French toast!"

"Those are all breakfast items," Elsa snorted.

Her pouty little lip was so adorably petulant… "So? You can have breakfast for dinner."

Debating for a moment, Elsa shrugged. "You buy the groceries. Until I'm sure of your culinary skill, I'm not throwing away money on something that might not be to my liking."

"Deal," Anna said, then grinned. "Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"

Then her arms were around Elsa.

 _What?!_ a voice screamed inside her head as the warm, soft body pressed into her through the two layers of somewhat-rigid fabric. Even after it had deduced this was a friendly gesture common among those who had just agreed to be flatmates, she still felt her pulse thundering in her ears. Her hands had already gone where they shouldn't by then, however; slipping around Anna's waist instead of her back.

"Ooh," Anna whispered, and the shiver could be felt very easily. "Such a princely hug, Miss Froiland!"

"Y-you caught me off my guard," Elsa breathed, trying for a laugh and knowing it sounded weak.

Anna pulled back to look into her eyes. Elsa's heart began to race, but she doggedly kept her face impassive, only a small smile in place. "Okay, so I get that now, but… can I ask you something? It's probably gonna sound super weird."

"Hmm?"

"Why… why does this feel so easy? Like we're old friends?" She let out a tiny laugh, lowering her eyes to somewhere around the tall blonde's chin. "Boy, that's dumb."

"It isn't!" Elsa coughed, then raised a hand to Anna's shoulder. "And I don't know, either. But you're not imagining it; I feel quite comfortable here."

Heat began rushing into her face as she stared at the younger girl, and she did her best to stave it off, but she still knew it was going to be harder the longer they held each other. Meanwhile, Anna seemed to only be aware that their nearness wasn't as awkward as it should be for two people who had scarcely known each other an hour.

"Thank you," she breathed quietly. "For… being so good to me today. I kinda needed it. You'll never know how glad I am I met you!"

As they disengaged and Anna began wandering around the rest of the apartment, Elsa pressed a worried hand against her lips. _And I hope you never figure out how glad I am to have met you, little Anna. Hope_ I _never figure it out, either._

_\- To Be Continued? -_


	2. The Way To A Woman's Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, but you seemed to enjoy the last chapter! Thank you so much! This one's fluffier. I'm still world-building a bit, straining through the contents of my diseased mind for gemstones to use in future chapters. Still… had some fun with this one, and it's a bit longer. Enjoy!

Coffee.

The irresistible aroma of smouldering grounds gently lifted Elsa from her slumber. Fingernails raked through her bangs as she rolled in her sheets, trying to figure out where she was. Of course, she was in her bed in the suite, but she could as easily have been in a hotel room on the other side of the globe.

 _What time is it?_ The flatscreen above her dresser was displaying modern art, but the watermark background said it was a little after seven. A full half hour before she normally even  _contemplated_ waking up. Too late now; with the smell of coffee pervading her quarters, there would be no going back to sleep.

Groggily, she somehow managed to extricate herself from the tangle of sheets that wrapped around her calves and crawled into the shower. Heat began to reverse the effects of sleep, invigorating body and mind. As she worked the jojoba-infused shampoo into a lather, she allowed thoughts to flow through her as she always did in preparation for another day of corporate multitasking.

So the board thought they could sidestep her authority. Fine. She could combat that in any number of ways that would have their heads spinning. Several hours had been spent the previous afternoon on just such a thing, following her agreeable holo-conference with Kristofferson. This would not be easy, not in the slightest, but it was doable. That was all the reassurance she needed.

And then there was Anna.

Elsa's hands slipped and she felt a sharp pain in her scalp as the redhead swam into her mind's eye. Leaving Elsa to finish out her day at the office, she had been waiting in the living room when the CEO walked in around six or seven that night, an assortment of bags around her. When she asked the young fool why she hadn't already begun settling, Anna insisted that Elsa be absolutely sure this arrangement wasn't going to be any inconvenience before going further. Elsa told her to shut up and get the battered old luggage out of her sight so they could order Thai.

Dinner had been stilted and strange, but they gradually moved beyond initial discomfort. Elsa learned about Anna's father's untimely death in a robotics accident when she was only five, the string of boyfriends her mother had gone through before giving up on finding another bond so close, which coincided with the beginning of her prolonged battle against ductal carcinoma. How she had rushed into the marriage with this Hans character purely so her mother could attend the ceremony, to set the ailing woman's mind at ease in regards to her daughter's future. Elsa lost her appetite, but doggedly ate, determined not to let Anna know how much the story saddened her.

Meanwhile, Elsa gave her the same autobiographical schpiel from the back of her book; standard family life with her mother and stepfather, gifted program, advanced placement classes, completing her secondary education by the age of sixteen. Perfect grades in business school, surging to the head of the firm she was working with in under two years. Playing the stocks so dangerously and recklessly that everyone called her insane… until she quadrupled her net worth in six months. North Mountain had been acquired, a fledgling company, but she made it her own and fed everything into it until it dwarfed the competition - or consumed it outright. Featured in Forbes, interviews on C-SPAN and The View. A Bentley and a BMW in the car park underneath their building.

Anna had surprised her by knowing most of the professional details already. She also surprised her by making a horrible mess of herself with the Thai food, yet looking adorable the entire time. This had to be the most uncomplicated creature in the universe. What on earth was she doing in the world of business? Surely her mother had to have seen that it wasn't the life for her daughter. Elsa was familiar with that, of course; making sure the child's financial future is secure rather than their happiness. All too familiar.

As she dressed in a black suit with a blood red blouse and painstakingly styled her hair, she went over her plan of attack in her mind. Call her old mentor, Yzma, and see if she could set her up with some of that digital witchcraft that could crack encrypted files. Go over every last gigabyte with a fine-toothed comb until she found some loophole, some way to mitigate the damage. If all else failed… there were always her accounts in the Caymans. No need to panic yet, though. Time was on her side.

When Elsa emerged from her room, heels in one hand and fastening an earring with the other, she blinked in surprise when she saw what was laid out on the bar in front of her.

"Hey, sunshine!" Anna greeted her brightly, hastily wiping powdered sugar from her freckled nose with a washcloth. "Hope you like fresh fruit on your pancakes - I got lots of it!"

"This…" Blinking, she took in the tottering plates of hotcakes, the three - wait,  _three?!_ \- different kinds of syrup, the bowls of sliced strawberries, blueberries, peaches…

"Um, and I used your coffee," she admitted with a guilty smile as she tucked a strand of unruly red hair behind her ear. "But, y'know, if that wasn't okay-"

"No, no, don't worry about that. How… long have you been up doing all of this?"

"Only an hour. Cream and sugar?"

Once Elsa had nodded, Anna turned away to the coffee pot, and she felt her throat constrict when she noticed the redhead was only wearing a carnation-pink pair of panties below her waistline. At least she had a shirt and apron on besides, but it still threw her for a loop.

 _Oh, brilliant. She's one of_ those  _roomies. No possible way this could go haywire. Not at all._

"You didn't have to spring for Thai last night, y'know," Anna whispered as she added cream to the mug of black liquid she was carrying across the kitchen. "You told me I'd be paying for my share, then didn't let me. Make up your mind!"

"It-" She had to clear her throat to rid it of the strangled quality that could very well have been a dead giveaway as to her state of mind. "It was your first night, I'd never expect you to pay. Next time, of course, we'll go Dutch."

At that, Anna smirked playfully. "Oh? Are you taking me out?"

Elsa just barely managed to swallow the mouthful of - perfectly prepared - coffee instead of spewing it all over the countertop. Anna merely laughed at the reaction and scooted one of the plates closer to her. "Go on, hurry up. I gotta know what you think."

Once she had constructed her mountain of slowly-cooling cake and slowly-warming fruit and forked a bite into her mouth, Elsa melted.  _"Mmmhh,_  that's exquisite!"

"Really?" Anna glowed, clasping her hands under her chin. "You're not just buttering me up?"

 _Maybe later,_ Elsa thought lewdly, then brushed the thought away. "They're the best pancakes I've ever had, and you're competing with my mother."

Very obviously pleased, Anna let out a titter as she began dressing her own plate. "That's where I learned my recipe. From  _my_ mom, not yours, of course! But she was so much better in the kitchen… I don't know when she found the time to learn how to do it all, what with running the family business and everything…"

Elsa merely nodded, too deeply immersed in the sensations dancing across her palate. Not overly cloying, and not bland; fluffy and light, yet buttery and satisfying. The syrup she had selected was pure maple from Quebec; none of that tame corn-byproduct abomination for her. The tiny smattering of strawberries shot through her taste buds with a zing. Heaven.

"You're… really enjoying those, huh?"

"Hmm?" Elsa said vaguely as she surfaced from her reverie.

Anna was blushing scarlet. "Um, sorry, I- well, you just looked… God, I'm sorry, never mind."

"Tell me how I looked," Elsa demanded, partly anxious and partly amused.

"Happy."

The smile slid off her face. "Is that a crime?" she demanded defensively, instantly regretting it when Anna winced.

"Of course not. But it's the first time you have since I met you yesterday morning."

"Not everyone can be a rainbow-farting Snow White every moment of the day," she grumbled, grabbing her coffee. Anna giggled, but she also looked put out by the comment at the same time. The regret only deepened, but she wasn't sure how to take back her words without coming across as wishy-washy.

"So… about the business…"

"Right," Elsa sighed, straightening. This was more like it. "Sven has already set things into motion. There's a shell company he owns which can- well, anyway. It'll get done. This afternoon, I'll try and follow up with him on his progress."

"That's good, that's… good." Anna cleared her throat. "Did you want anything else with the pancakes? Bacon or sausage, or maybe an egg?"

"I don't eat pork products." Seeing the hint of a grimace cross Anna's face, she waved a hand. "For dietary reasons. If you cook some for yourself, I won't be offended."

"N-no, no, I'm fine."

The silenced deepened as they ate. Elsa felt like the worst kind of bitch. Here this woman she had practically forced to live in her spare room was doing everything she possibly could to show her appreciation, and what had she done? All but thrown it back in her face. Stellar performance. Her mother would be chewing her out in the other room by now if she were there.

 _Of course, you know that won't ever happen again,_ she thought morosely as she chewed.  _Not until you completely transmogrify yourself into someone you're not._

When the arm slid around her shoulders, her fork fell to the plate with a loud clatter and she held very still.

"Do you… wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" she demanded, holding perfectly still. "And what do you think you're doing, exactly?"

Anna didn't move, though. "Dude, you seriously look upset - and way more upset than bacon and pancakes would make anybody."

Being addressed as "dude" was enough to shake her from her brooding state, and she twitched to shrug off the would-be comforting arm. "It's nothing."

"Really?"

" _Leave it,_ " she ordered tersely. Anna flinched again as her arm dropped away, blue-green orbs dropping away in chagrin. How many times could you make a sweet, caring individual afraid of you in one morning? Elsa's guilt knew no bounds, but she was also irritated at the nosy girl's inability to back off. "I'm fine, alright? Look. We aren't old schoolmates, we aren't sisters, and we aren't best friends forever. It's not your responsibility to cheer me up over every little thing. So… please, when I say it's-"

"Fine," Anna sighed, rising from the stool next to hers and padding back around the bar into the kitchen. "You're right, I'm overstepping. I'll watch it from now on."

The feeling that she should apologise persisted, even though she was almost  _positive_ she had been in the right. In the end, she settled on a simple, "Thank you."

"Hmm?" Anna said dully.

"For breakfast. Thank you."

Her shrug was small and subdued. "No problem."

 _You're a real bleeding heart, Froiland,_ she mentally berated herself as she polished off the pancakes and coffee. What else could she do without undermining all the things she had said - and meant - moments before? Nothing, that's what.

"You don't have to do that," she said when Anna took her plate and began scrubbing it in the sink.

"My mess. I'll clean it up."

"No, I mean-" Sighing in exasperation, she went on, "There's a dishwasher, and I have a cleaning service, it's really not-"

Anna chuckled. "Don't worry so much, okay? This is just part of the process for me."

"Then I'll help."

"You will not. You're already dressed for work, you'll ruin your suit."

" _I'll help."_ Her jacket was already draped over the back of one stool and she was rolling up her sleeves as she paced around the bar and into the kitchen. "Stop being stubborn."

"This isn't stubborn," Anna grunted as she began scraping at the pan that had turned their cakes golden brown. "This is just… the way it works. Put on an apron first, at least!"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa reached under the sink and snatched an apron from the neat stack she hardly ever touched. "Are you always so pushy in other people's kitchens?"

"Hey, when I'm cooking in it, it's  _my_ kitchen. You can have it back once all the dishes are clean."

As Elsa began drying the dishes, she watched Anna work. A thin sheen of sweat began to emerge on her forehead, and a very quiet part of Elsa started comparing the young woman to a child trying to program their first holo-vid to play on repeat; all sharply-focused innocence. The wisp of fondness was there and gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Elsa stunned and vaguely disoriented.

~ o ~

For a Friday, the office was unnecessarily busy. A double-booked slot had her rushing through the first appointment and apologising through the second one. Six employees had to be informed their positions were being downsized - which Elsa would have felt guilty over if she hadn't worked her fingers to the bone making sure it wasn't  _twenty-_ six of them. A hurried lunch left her just enough time to place another secure call to Kristofferson.

"I got this," the sandy-haired beefcake assured her, stylus twirling in his meaty hand as he stared back at her from the projection above her desk. "Can't you take some downers or something? All's gonna be right with the world by Monday - Tuesday at the latest. Trust me."

"You don't inspire confidence," she grumbled as she tossed her empty yoghurt cup into the waste recycler by her desk.

At that, his eyebrows knitted. "Something I don't get, here… why do you give a rat's ass?"

"Eh?"

"About this Snowflake company. Big deal, another bit player eats it; sad, but that's just how the world works. Why does it matter to you, though?"

Elsa shrugged, popping the top on a yerba mate cocktail. "Sets a precedent. The board members and their consortium thought they could pull this one over on me without my knowledge. Oughtn't I let them know their dirty dealings are far from appreciated?"

"Sure, sure. But normally, I'd see you buying it out from under them yourself. Why more or less wrap it up as a shiny gift for the original owner?"

Elsa tried to remain passive, but then she sighed. "You went over the figures."

"This is peanuts for you. Level with me." After a few minutes of silence, he leaned in conspiratorially, eyes twinkling with glee. "New girl?"

"Sven!"

"It is!" he chuckled, clapping his hands. "Oh, I knew it, I knew you had to be working another angle!"

"That isn't-" The blush filling Elsa's cheeks was complete and evident before she had any chance of heading it off. "Shut up laughing, you stupid berk! You are very,  _very_ wrong in this case - and presumptuous, I might add!"

"Yeah, right!" he chortled. "You're totally head over heels, and you're actually sacrificing  _profit_ over it! She must really be something!"

"She is!" Recoiling at her own admission, she barged ahead. "No, I- that is, she's a decent sort I don't want to see crushed by something  _I_ should have anticipated and intercepted! Christ, stop making me out to be a, a she-wolf on Wall Street!"

"Your face is so freaking red right now!"

White-knuckling on the armrests of her chair, she growled, "Sven, you're the absolute worst! Can't you get out of it and j-just help me?!"

Wiping away tears of mirth, he said, "Okay, okay, I think I can do that. But only if you answer me one question." When Elsa didn't even bother to respond, he asked it. "Redhead?"

Blood draining from her face, she ended the call.

The following one to Yzma was a lot less stress-inducing. The wizened old woman was mildly surprised to be hearing from a former apprentice, but took it all in stride as was her usual manner. After asking a few pointed questions, she said she'd be in touch once she had something to send along and signed off brusquely. It was where Elsa had learned her own sense of professionalism, after all.

Two more minutes. She'd allow herself two more minutes to be exhausted by everything happening around her before she forced her attentions back to urgent matters.

When she next opened her eyes, she saw Anna's nose an inch from her own.

"ACK!" she yelped, pushing back so violently that her chair tipped, dumping her head over heels into the floor.

"Omigod!" Anna squealed as she raced forward, setting a bag of something on the floor so she could more accurately check for injury. "What the hell- are you alright?"

"Anna," Elsa breathed once her mind had reoriented itself. She was still in her office. Much more importantly, Anna's hands were gliding over her head and neck. "A-ANNA!"

"Oh, good," the younger girl sighed in obvious relief as her gentle fingers probed. "Doesn't seem to be any real damage. Man, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were asleep or I would never-"

"No, no, it's…" She trailed off as their eyes met again.

There it was, that same odd sense of connection. Was she falling for her? Preposterous. It wasn't just sadly unlikely, it was a stupid thing to even think. It also wasn't how this felt - not as she related it to any of her previous relationships, at any rate. Even so… with the other girl blissfully unaware of the turmoil burning within her heart over such a silly thing, how was she supposed to get a handle on it?

"Wh-what?" Anna breathed, blinking rapidly. Not so blissfully unaware, apparently.

"Help," she demanded of the universe weakly.

"Help?"

Elsa forced herself to blink, to ignore the soft, smooth fingers against her neck, the vaguest hint of chocolate carried on Anna's warm breath as it danced on the verge of her senses. "Help… me up."

"Oh!" Laughing, mostly at herself, she stood back and very easily pushed her chair upright again. "There! All better?"

"Y-yes," Elsa stuttered, blinking in surprise. "How- that is… you lifted me so easily."

"Simple physics; I put my foot under the wheels, made a lever-and-fulcrum kind of thing." Shrugging, she picked up the bag and sat on the edge of the desk. "I mean, I do play tennis to keep in shape and all, but trust me, I'm no body-builder!"

Elsa allowed herself a quiet chuckle. "You bench-pressed me easily enough." Then she realized how close Anna was sitting and diverted her attention purposefully. "What's in the bag?"

"Lunch! I mean… unless you already ate? Figured we could do something light after those heavy pancakes this morning." Her head dipped sheepishly. "My fault, I know, I know."

"How light is light?"

"Salads." When Elsa raised an eyebrow, Anna went on, "But I bet you've never had one from the Greek place down my way, Leksi's?  _So_ good, and this dressing - well, here."

The disposable container was already open and in her hands before Elsa could protest that she had already ate yoghurt. Then again, it hadn't seemed very filling after such a large breakfast. "Ehrm… I, uh, thank you. But you didn't have to come all this way."

"Well…" Anna fidgeted with the plastic cutlery she had been about to hand her, then sighed. "I felt bad about this morning. Not that I'm taking all the blame," she said pointedly with a small smile. "Still, we kind of… I think we both stepped on each other's toes a little without meaning to."

"We did," Elsa sighed with relief. It had been niggling at the back of her mind throughout her entire workday. "Of course, we can't expect everything to go smoothly overnight, but… yes, my apologies if I seemed overly harsh."

Anna's tiny smile grew wider. "You did, but I was being all pushy. No big deal." Then she handed over the fork and retrieved her own salad. "Better finish it all; the lettuce starts to wilt if you try to save some for later. Trust me, found that out the hard way!"

For a few quiet seconds, Elsa merely watched the energetic girl spearing greens and feta cheese and forcing them past her ruby red lips, chewing with relish, and contemplated things beyond her right to wish for. Then she joined her in repast.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	3. Loosening Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been listening to a lot of IAMX as I wrote this. Who cares? No one, that's who.
> 
> Thanks again for all the follows and reviews and things! More plot threads are being interwoven, trying my best. Hope you don't mind the little break from Elsanna at the beginning of the chapter, but I thought it might go a long way toward establishing Elsa Froiland as an individual. And fun with booze! (this is a warning for those who have a problem with alcohol use in fiction; not abuse, just use! Also, trigger warning for attempted sexual harassment.)

With no safe space to retreat into, Elsa purposefully booked herself a full Saturday of exhaustive meetings and digital paperwork so as to avoid going home to Anna. Though it had only been a pair of days, already they had suffered through three awkward meals together. Ducking out as early as possible that morning had relieved her of another carb-laden breakfast and strained social interaction.

A meeting across town had her hailing an aircab, and she growled as her heel caught in the seam of the seventy-fifth-floor dock. She was already running behind, and this wasn't doing much to improve her mood. Finally, she was seated in back of the cab.

"Where to?" asked the swarthy man in the flatcap.

"Aurora and Natural Bridge," she sighed as she pressed her thumb to the plate in the center of the backseat. Recognising her identity and checking her bank balance was above the minimum amount, they were off.

As she tried to relax, she looked out over the city below. So many people darting to and fro, going about their busy little lives. Most of them would be entirely forgotten once they had passed on by all but their own families. In the long run, she supposed that was more important than amassing personal wealth and how many cars you had cooling in the lot below.

 _Not that I'm even using any of them,_ she chuckled ruefully. It would have taken even longer to ride the elevator all the way down and retrieve one, then fight her way through the congested Arendopolis ground-traffic. Nope, the skyway was reserved for the affluent and the hurried.

Elsa tapped on the smooth white surface of her bracelet with her opposite thumb and it shimmered to change to a touchscreen, displaying the time and a handful of small options. She tapped one, and a keyboard appeared, glowing along the length of her forearm. As she typed, her words hung in the air above her wrist:

_Sven, pls check conversions US-Swiss-UK. Shuffling could be key._

Once the message was sent, the keyboard disappeared. A few more taps to check any incoming messages; none worth responding to. She thumbed it again and it resumed its milky-white appearance.

As she disembarked on the landing deck of Westerguard Incorporated's Arendopolis branch, she heard her wristphone ping and checked it. The response was a terse "got it" that sounded like Sven had his mind on other matters. The business elite never stopped working.

Several clipped words of conversation with a receptionist later and Elsa was waiting in a conference room with a cup of bland, tepid coffee. How much extra water did they add to the bilgewater to make it so inoffensive that two-year-olds could drink it?

"Miss Froiland?"

At that, she glanced up to see a large man with his sleek black hair drawn back in a ponytail striding across the side of the room, e-valise dangling from one hand while the other extended in greeting.

"Mr. LeGume," Elsa replied as she took it.

"Please," he muttered as he raised her hand to his lips and gave her knuckles the barest brush with his lips. The recoil in her gut was far more pronounced than the one she displayed outwardly. "Gaston."

"Gaston, then," she grunted as she practically yanked her hand from his loose grip. Immediately seating herself at the table, she clasped her hands and rested them on her now-crossed legs and said, "So… what can North Mountain do for you?"

More than a little surprised that she had cut to the chase, LeGume straightened his tie and sat in the seat next to hers. Annoyance flared; it would have been more polite for him to sit  _across_ from her. Being a senior executive in charge of intermediary relations, he should have known better by now.

"Okie-dokie," he drawled as he made himself comfortable, one elbow draped on the table's surface. "Toasty Togs. Are we gonna do this, or are we gonna do this?"

"You tell me. The product sells itself, but I'd hardly call it a lucrative venture for us to acquire it from you. Care to sweeten the pot? Lower your asking price? We have to allow for overhead expenses."

He waved a hand carelessly. "Overhead, schmoverhead. This is a steal and you know it."

"If it's a steal, why are you leaving your valuables out in the open?"

"Hah!" he laughed heartily, small eyes glinting. "You don't pull punches, do you? Read up on you before this meeting, asked around. They don't call you 'The Glacier' for nothing."

A sickly flutter went through her stomach at that term. The  _Glacier._ She rarely made reckless, blind attacks, preferring to take her time. Her slow and steady progress had flattened untold businesses and investors, cold and unavoidable, remorseless. Or so the outside world perceived. Of course she had remorse, of course she considered the human factor. Letting the world bear witness to her misgivings would only weaken her resolve, let the chinks in her armour show.  _Don't let them in,_ she always reminded herself when the elderly head of a privately-held company that had thrived for half a century found himself signing over his legacy to her.  _Don't let them see your heart. All they need to know is that your will is immovable and their day is done._

"Right," was all she said to the man. Her opponent.

"And they call me 'The Huntsman'. Do you know why?"

"Because you smell of elk musk?"

"Because I strike while the iron is hot," he went on as if she hadn't spoken. "This Togs company is quaint on its own, but we don't really have the resources to do anything spectacular with it. Folding it into your other winter gear interests, however…"

Elsa rolled her eyes as slightly as she could manage. "Yes, yes, that's why we're having a meeting. But what do you  _really_ get out of this deal?"

"Capital. There are a few other interests we'd like to pursue - and fast - and we can't seem to free up any assets in a less, uh, sacrificial manner. So, we have to trim the fat." He winked. "Not that you have to worry about that much."

 _Ugh,_ she thought wearily.  _He thinks he's charming._

"But I assume if you came all this way, you're at least considering making an offer. Let's talk figures."

A few minutes crawled by as they played conglomeration chess, each trying to put the other in check. When all was said and done, it was very honestly a tie; neither company profited a great deal, but it was still a beneficial agreement.

"Done deal, then," Gaston said as he tapped a few details into his e-valise's touchscreen and slid it to her. "Look it over and thumb it and we'll be on our way."

One of her eyebrows raised. "You weren't going to CC me a copy? For shame, Mr. Huntsman."

"Oops," he said with what sounded like genuine chagrin as she added her address into the "TO" field. "My mistake."

"Uh-huh."  _Not bloody likely._ "All looks in order… except this clause here. Not kosher, it needs to be at least a week."

At that, he stood and leaned over her shoulder to get a look at where she indicated. "That's standard."

"It's laughable. Shall I, or do you need to have your hands on it personally?'

"Use your hands however you want," he purred in her ear. She stiffened, but did not otherwise react; this was nothing new. For all of society's decades of progress, she was still a woman in a so-called 'man's world', and putting up with the occasional innuendo was the cost of living her lifestyle. Unfortunately.

"There," she sighed once she had corrected the offending subsection. "I'll thumb this if we're through tweaking."

"The contract? Sure." That one was harder to ignore, but he didn't make any other overt move, so she merely pressed her lips together and pressed her thumb to the pad. A blink and a chirrup and her signature was on the line. He reached forward to do the same… intentionally brushing against her hand.

"Listen," he sighed heavily as he signed the document. "This was pretty much my whole workday; I mean, it's Saturday, right? After this, we could-"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have an armload of spreadsheets to page through waiting for me back at the office," she said briskly as she tapped her wristcomp to check the time - and to be sure she had actually received a copy of the contract. She didn't trust this swaggering douche's valise any further than she trusted his unwarranted advances. Once she had seen his name in her inbox, she sighed and tapped it opaque again. "Perhaps another time."

At that he laughed exasperatedly. "You really are frigid, aren't you?"

"Not yet, I'm not. Now, kindly remove your hand from my shoulder."

He did, backing off with a sigh. "You're worse than Belle in accounting. Just trying to bring a little fun to an otherwise dull afternoon. Is that against the law?"

"Actually, it is in this setting, technically speaking. Now, if we're quite through here?" Her strides took her briskly toward the door, but Gaston was in her way when she reached it.

"Wait, wait," he stalled, an indulgent smile on his lips. "Listen. I really want to get to know you better, I… like what you have to offer. Just went about it the wrong way, I guess. Give me another shot?"

"I didn't want to give you the first one! Move, please."

His beady eyes darkened. "You don't have to be such an uppity skirt about this. We can have a civil conversation, you know."

"Your definition of civility seems to be at odds with mine. Our business together is concluded, and as I've said, there are a lot of-"

"Just tell me what it is about me you don't like," he persisted, arms folded over his barrel chest. "Get me off your back, it's that easy."

Elsa tried valiantly to ignore the tiny pinprick of dread welling up in her stomach. She didn't want it to be real, to have to acknowledge its existence. "Your inability to take no for an answer. Which I hope doesn't extend beyond business."

Suddenly, the brute pressed what he assumed was an advantage. "I'd never do that. But I can't let you out of my sight without making my case, here. Blondie, you are… absolutely drop-dead gorgeous," he half-laughed as his eyes raked the shape of her body through her grey suit, "and I don't get many complaints. Together, we could make 'a good time' seem like a bad one, I think."

"Subtlety is not your strong suit, is it?" she said, fighting to control her voice from shaking. Whether from fear or anger, she couldn't be certain. "Not. Interested. I'm through warning you. Let me out of this conference room."

For the first time, Gaston became truly angry - and it was an ugly transformation. A vein stood out in strong relief on his neck, another at his temple, and his jaw clenched so tightly it took on a different shape. "You're not such hot shit, you know. So what if you're CEO? I'll be running this place inside of two years, and then my portfolio will be worth  _twice_ yours. What gives you the right to act like I'm not good enough for you to even go out on one little lunch?"

"Whether or not you're 'good enough' is moot. If I'm not interested, then all that's left for you to do is accept defeat with grace - or don't, and see what happens."

With a growl, his hand shot out and clamped around her upper arm. "Listen here,  _putain!_   _Nobody_ talks to Gaston LeGume that way, man or woman! Now you owe me a-"

He blinked down at his own hand as he registered something was off. It felt numb. Then he noticed her free thumb and forefinger pressing into his wrist tightly.

"Pressure points," she whispered. Then the hand lashed out and struck him just below the sternum, and he crumpled to the carpeting. "There's plenty more where that came from. Now, can I expect an apology, or would that just be entirely ridiculous?"

"You… that w-was… how did…?"

Elsa laughed at his inability to speak, pushing him with the very lightest touch so that he teetered sideways into the wall. "You won't even have a bruise, so don't worry about lasting health and safety. Just worry about what may happen the next time I hear you making a 'power play' like this one again." For good measure, she leaned down and whispered into his ear, "That  _includes_ your Belle in accounting."

"S-so- so c-cold…"

"You'll feel that way for a bit," she said unconcernedly. "But soon enough, you'll be back to full brutish capacity. More's the pity. Pleasure doing business."

Every last lingering vestige of fear having evaporated in the wake of her burning pride, Elsa stepped over his leg and made good her escape.

~ o ~

The hour was late when she pushed her way into the apartment, so weary she didn't even carry her shoes into her room, leaving them just inside on the rug. Her suit was halfway off when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

"Yes?"

"Hey," Anna said as she pushed inside. "So I was thinking about how many-"

"ANNA!"

The younger girl squeaked at the outburst, taking in the way Elsa's arms were crossed over her bra. "What, what?!"

"I'm undressing!" Elsa hissed, all trace of weariness gone. "What do you mean, 'what'?!"

"You say that like I've never seen a naked girl before," Anna laughed in relief, all tension leaving her bare shoulders. The mint-green camisole left very little to the imagination, which was echoed in the boxer shorts that completed her current attire. "Get an eyeful of one in the mirror every morning, y'know!"

"Yes," Elsa stuttered, clearing her throat as she hurriedly pulled on the robe she had already draped over her bed. "W-well, I'm a bit…"  _A bit what? What are you going to say? How much shall you reveal tonight?_ "…shy."

Anna's gleefully amused expression softened, though now she looked like a kindergarten teacher listening to one of her students explain their favourite cartoon. "Aww… okay, I'm sorry, I'll do better."

"Fine. Now, erm, what was it you wanted?"

But the girl was frowning now. "You seem really tired and stressed. What happened?"

"Why should you think anything happened?"

"Come on, don't be like that. This isn't just paperwork fatigue, you're, like…" She let out a quiet laugh. "If I knew you better, I'd probably think you were upset about something."

"But you  _don't._ "

The silence stretched on for a long moment as Elsa slid off her trousers underneath the robe and kicked them into the corner. Normally, she'd fold them and place them neatly in the dirty clothes hamper, but she was too focused on Anna's temperament.

"I don't," Anna whispered. "I'm sorry, I… yeah, I'm just gonna…"

And then she was gone, leaving Elsa alone in her room to change.

When she emerged twenty minutes later, more properly covered in violet silk pyjamas, Anna was getting herself a glass of water. She shot Elsa a bashful smile when she noticed her approach, then made for her room.

"Alright, wait," the older woman sighed in defeat. "You don't have to scurry away like a frightened mouse."

"I don't?" Anna asked blandly. "You made it pretty clear if I said anything more, you were gonna bite my head off."

"I was never going to bite your head off." She wanted to bury the hatchet without revisiting the issue that had caused her to chop down Anna's happiness-tree in the first place. "Come now, you just… push a bit much sometimes. I'm not accustomed to that."

"Expressing concern isn't 'pushing'!" Anna blustered with a frown.

"But I don't  _need_ you looking after me," Elsa said wearily, massaging her temples with her fingertips. "Honestly, it makes me feel like an invalid!"

Another silence, this one heavier and more oppressive, as if the world were waiting for something to give. Elsa rounded the corner and pulled a dark brown bottle from the cupboard, snagging a small glass along the way.

"Oh, y-" But one glare silenced the redhead's protests. Once the wine glass was half-full, she cleared her throat. "C-can I have some?"

"By all means," Elsa sighed as she retrieved a second glass and filled it to the same level. Anna made a small, frightened squeak when she saw how much liquor was in her own vessel. "What?"

"Umm…"

"You've never had so much as a drop before, have you?"

"I have," Anna hedged. Elsa looked up into her soft blue-green eyes in disbelief, and her freckled cheeks reddened. "N-not hard liquor, but I drank! In college!"

" _Beer,_ " Elsa said snidely as she stared into the dark amber liquid. "Or perhaps a daiquiri?"

Pouting, she grabbed the glass and downed her serving in two successive gulps. This would have been impressive if not for the hacking fit that assailed her a few seconds later.

"Easy," Elsa chuckled as she rubbed the girl's back, trying not to grin at the redness and strain around her eye sockets. "Shhh, just take deep breaths through your nose… swallow again."

Finally, Anna had herself under control and she wiped her eyes. "Whew! God, what the hell  _is_ that?"

"Cognac. Napoleon-grade cognac, in fact; you're welcome."

"Why? Is that special or something?"

"Depends. Does $800 per bottle count as special?"

Anna started coughing again, and Elsa mentally kicked herself. She was trying to impress the young exec. Why? Already, they were in her posh apartment, she'd seen the state of her office, the quality of her suits. It wasn't gracious to flaunt her wealth. So what was the purpose in it?

 _I know the purpose,_ a dark corner of her mind insisted.  _I just don't want to admit what it is._

"It was a gift from a Chinese investor," Elsa went on, trying to laugh it off. "No one ever comes over to share it with me, it was just gathering dust."

"You could at least have-" another cough "-have told me that before I  _snorted_ it!"

Elsa was already tipping the bottle toward Anna's wine glass, still laughing, but then she hesitated. "You… wouldn't want any more, would you? Not after that reaction."

"Bring it on," she said bravely, though her eyes were trained on the bottle as if it were going to snap at her. When she saw only a tenth of the liquor she'd been given before, she prodded, "What's the matter? I can take it."

"You'll take the time to  _appreciate_ it this go," Elsa ordered her. "Now… watch me."

She held her own glass up to her nose, inhaling its nutty aroma, the hint of vanilla. Anna reflected her actions, though her nose wrinkled slightly.  _Lightweight,_ Elsa thought bemusedly. Then she tipped the glass and drew the tiniest mouthful into her lips, watching Anna do the same…  _Stop staring at her lips, you obvious twit._

But as Anna lowered her glass, pink tongue flicking out to rescue the tiny droplets of fine brandy from her delicate upper lip, Elsa continued to stare, too focused on not allowing the view to form any connecting thoughts to be able to tear her gaze away.

"Wow," the lips sighed, forming a tiny "O" at the end of the simple word. Then they puckered inward slightly to form another word. "What?"

Forcing her eyes up to Anna's now, she raised an eyebrow and suppressed her guilty conscience. "Opinions?"

"It's… yeah, I'm still not a big fan of alcohol at all, anyway, but that's… smooth? Is that a thing? And it's got a weight to it that's nice, warmth."

"Lovely," Elsa replied with a smirk. "There may be hope for you, Snowman."

Anna giggled, then let out a tiny squeak. "Oh! I almost forgot, I got you something - hang on, I'll be right back!"

And off she flounced. Left to herself for a moment, Elsa passed a hand over her forehead to check if she was perspiring; so far, so dry. Taking a few cleansing breaths, she ingested half her remaining cognac in one swift draught, only savouring the aftertaste. Anything to calm her twitching nerves.

 _How is she_ doing  _this to me?_ she demanded internally as she set the glass down with a louder clink than she meant to.  _It's been quite a while, indeed, but… is that any excuse for drooling? My composure is unravelling over some ginger from the poor side of the NASDAQ! What's the cause? More importantly, what's the point?!_

"Got it!" Anna called out before rounding the corner. "It's not a big thing, but here."

Hastily smoothing her features into an impassive mask again, she looked up to see Anna holding out a small box. "That's… one of yours?"

"The Snowman Build-A-Bird," she confirmed as Elsa took it. "Not quite the mouse, that's kindergarten stuff, but it's not in the league of our pro series, either."

"Intermediate-level amateur robotics. Cheers."

"N-not that I don't think you can handle the pro level!" Anna laughed nervously, twiddling the hem of her cami as she spoke. "Obviously, you're some kind of freaking entrepreneurial genius! Just didn't know if you'd ever put one together or not, so, um…"

"I haven't, actually," Elsa admitted as her fingernail slit the tape holding the box closed and began to unpack the components. "Hmm… sell a lot of these, do you?"

"Tons. They're the only model we can't keep stocked sometimes. Well, except for the Executive Hedgehog; we usually get a run on those before Christmas and on Administrative Professionals' Day."

"Where… does this bit go?"

Anna edged closer, looking over Elsa's forearm, then smiled. "Um, you have to plug that tab in first."

"Like this?"

"No, more like…" And Elsa felt her heart fly into her throat when Anna's hands slid over her own, moving them into position. "There."

Willing herself to remain calm, she breathed, "Easy, hard as it looks."

"It looks hard?" Anna laughed, those warm hands still teasing her flesh. "Most people think it looks  _too_ easy. That's half of our customer complaints; we make it look like it takes  _no_ effort, so even though it's… pretty simple, they still have… what, what is it?"

The mistake was building from the base of Elsa's spine, rocketing up her ribcage and toward her solar plexus. Around the time she felt it hit her larynx, she turned her head just in time to clear her throat and whisper, "Nothing. Just… you're a very patient and gentle teacher."

_That was too close. Curse you, cognac!_

"Aww," Anna cooed as she dropped her hands away. "Am not."

"You're patient enough with me, even though I've been behaving like a spoiled trust fund baby ever since I met you. It speaks volumes to the quality of your character, Anna."

A few seconds passed in quietude as Elsa tinkered with the simple tech. Realising this, she looked up to see a slight rouge in her flatmate's cheeks. When she raised an eyebrow at this, Anna only shrugged and looked away. "I… don't think you've ever complimented me before."

That caught her off her guard. "Haven't I?"

"Well, you said my pancakes were good, but…"

"That's unfortunate." Another mistake was building, and faster, hotter. She contained the damage as best she could, but not entirely. "Because you seem to be a very capable, beautiful, vital young woman. That ex of yours is a shortsighted prick, you ask me."

"What?" she half-laughed, cheeks reddening further. "Did you say he's a  _prick?"_

"Sorry, am I unaware of some shining quality of his that you've left out?"

"Oh, no way, he's fresh out of those!" They both laughed at that before Anna yelped, "Hey, don't do that, you'll break it!"

Her hands were just in time to save Elsa from snapping a fragile joint in two, prying the blonde's bony fingers apart with her own gently-tapering ones. The flush building up Elsa's neck continued into her ears and face this time, and she cursed herself for not focusing on the task.

"Blast," she swore at herself. "Nearly ruined it. You gave this to me, and I nearly…"

"It's fine," Anna snorted. "You know we make hundreds of these every day, right? I could give you six more on Monday, no sweat."

"But I want  _this_ one to work, because it was your gift to me! Why can't I just…" Frustrated, she set the pieces down before she crippled them after all, gripping the counter and trying to breathe as evenly as possible under the circumstances.

"Hey," Anna soothed, touching her arm lightly. "You're really upset - your face is all red."

"It is not."

"Maybe… I should have waited until you were sober," Anna chided herself. "Wow, good call, Snowman; ask somebody to handle delicate robotics under the influence. Sounds like a recipe for success, huh?"

"Don't blame yourself - and don't blame the alcohol, it's…" Barely able to deflect her thought patterns, she said, "I'm just no good with this sort of activity. Building things. Never was."

At that, Anna had to scoff. "Seriously? You built a huge multinational company! That looks pretty damn good to me!"

Elsa's eyes were fastened onto the hand on her arm, trying to swim through the morass that was her mind and find the words that had to do with their conversation. "Maybe… but I… don't have anyone to share it with. And I can't even put together a gift from a girlfriend. All I'm good for is crunching figures and… and cannibalising other people's financial welfare to fuel my evil corporation. Success in business, failure as a human being."

As Anna rubbed her arm slowly in sympathy, part of what she had said came rocketing to the forefront of her thoughts again:  _girlfriend_. It had been a small slip, and luckily one that had a double-meaning. Even so, things like that were going to get harder to explain if she kept saying them.

"Hey-"

"Perhaps I ought to go to bed."

Anna pulled her hand away, and Elsa stole a glance at her face. The tiny lines at the corner of her luminous eyes betrayed both concern and confusion. "But it's only… what, maybe nine o'clock?"

"I'm… not feeling terribly energetic."

Anna squirmed, then passed a hand over her own forehead. "Whoa… okay, so I think that booze just kicked in, heh." Then she gulped. "Um… I have an idea. Wanna chill out on the couch for a while?"

"No, I-"

"Don't be all anti-social!" she chided, tugging at her upper arm. "Not when you're starting to open up and stuff! Come on, just… we can watch Netflix or something."

At that, Elsa almost laughed aloud but realised it would seem insulting at the last possible second. "Oh, I'm not much for television."

Rolling her eyes, Anna began tugging her toward the living room. "It's not about what we're watching, it's about having it in the background as a conversation piece. Have you ever seen 'True Stories Of Tennis Stars'?"

"True… what?"

"So maybe I only first checked it out because I play, but it's really fascinating. Here, where's your remote?"

The CEO perched herself on one end of the couch, struggling to keep her gaze from the long, enticing stretches of thigh scurrying about the room as their owner searched for the controls. Due to this, it took her a long time to remember that her television was voice-activated, and even longer to figure out that telling Anna this would save her a lot of trouble.

 _No way this can go wrongly,_ Elsa thought for the thousandth time while her roomie settled in next to her on the couch, legs curled under herself and biting the corner of her lip as the show began.  _Of course not. You're only having designs on the most innocent young lamb in the corporate world. What a stand-up gal you are, Froiland; they should write songs about your moral fortitude._

_How long can I even handle this arrangement before I really do ruin everything?_

_\- To Be Continued -_


	4. Quarterly Projections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why on earth did this take so long? It came easily enough to me this morning. Oh, well. Thanks everyone who's been patiently waiting for an update! I promise a lot more twists and turns are waiting in the coming chapters… I won't spoil anything, but there will be intrigue, betrayal, exotic locations, and- okay, yes, eventually some semi-graphic Elsanna action, but I'm still going to keep this one under T! If you want the porn, try some cake! -canned laughter-
> 
> And I'm sorry this one's a little short, but the stopping point was so natural I had to use it. See you soon!
> 
> Jessex

An elbow to the face woke Elsa with a start.

_OW,_ she greeted the day. _Well, that's even less fun than one would expect._ Yawning, she reached up to move the elbow, then rubbed her eyes blearily.

Then she turned to stone.

_Whose elbow…?_

"Hmnm," Anna cooed quietly as she rolled over, snuggling against Elsa's side again before stilling, not having woken even the slightest bit.

_Oh._

Fighting down the rising wave of panic, Elsa slowly rewound her memories of the night previous. Drinking, yes, there had been drinking. Watching that tennis documentary, swapping war stories of the boardroom… working on the Build-A-Bird… talking about pets and family, about Anna's holiday in New Zealand… and after that? Nothing.

_Alright,_ she thought frantically. _This doesn't have to mean what it appears to mean. We simply… fell asleep, no thanks to the effects of cognac. In fact, if you'd stop overreacting to everything for a pair of breaths, you'd realise how completely innocent it all is. How innocent Anna is._

That was beginning to work, even though her heart rate was still elevated from the nearby warmth of her toned young flatmate. Toned? How did she even know that?

_Because I can see a stretch of abdominal muscles peeking out from between top and shorts, that's how. Because I can feel her thighs against one of mine, her back under my palm. Christ, how do I get myself into these predicaments?_

Turning her eyes to the ceiling, she tried to ignore Anna's more-than-comfortable presence and sort through her own thoughts. She was a friend, and temporarily a business contact until this whole Consortium unpleasantness was behind them. She was also several years younger, and by all accounts had not a gay bone in her body. To her, this would simply be a "slumber party", as most giggly straight girls liked to call them.

_Innocent little dolphin,_ she thought again as she stared down at the freckled nose gently snoring against the lapel of her pyjamas. One of Elsa's hands raised and flitted through her ruddy fringe fondly. She knew the gesture was overly familiar, she knew it had connotations beyond what she intended, but for some reason, she had to do it. Because she might not get another chance?

_Because she deserves someone to show her physical affection. Even if it's just this._

"Mmmhh," Anna sighed happily from within her dreamland. "Hans, don' go…"

It took a powerful effort of will to keep from clenching her fist in Anna's hair. _Hans._ The man had not only left such a perfectly charming woman, he had left her a pauper. Perhaps he had his own reasons, but she couldn't imagine they justified squeezing every last cent from his ex-wife.

_Bastard,_ she growled inwardly as she pressed her lips to Anna's forehead consolingly. _Regardless of the circumstances that led to divorce, she didn't deserve that. Least of all her._

Anna's hand clenched against Elsa's stomach, tugging the fabric as she shifted her position higher. Then hot, desperate lips were pressing into her cheek.

Elsa's mind went blank. Anna was kissing her face. Not just a light, friendly peck, but with heat, with intent to empassion the recipient. Elsa felt her hand fall between Anna's shoulder blades, and the younger exec cooed at her touch, mouth working slowly back until it captured Elsa's earlobe, kneading it and drawing it in.

Instantly, her heart rate skyrocketed as she clutched Anna tighter to herself, a dark heat pooling in her stomach. Already, she was thrilling to this turn of events, drinking it in and delighting in it. If things didn't take a less-romantic turn very soon, her urges would awaken fully. Then what?

_Then what?_

It was then that Anna's hand drifted up and gently palmed her left breast. And at the same time Elsa felt flames of heat burning in her face and other areas, Anna's movements ceased entirely.

"Hmmh?!"

Elsa froze solid, listening and watching Anna's reactions. The redhead drew back, eyes blinking sleep away as rapidly as she could, brows knitting as she saw the wetness on the ear before her. Still unsure of what to make of that, she looked down at her hand.

"Anna…" Elsa began. _I can explain. This isn't what it looks like. I didn't start anything, I swear. I'd never take advantage of you._ A million excuses tumbled over each other in her mind.

"Wha…?" She gave the tit another light squeeze, as if to make sure it were real.

"ANNA!"

That did it. All remaining drowsiness was gone in a flash, leaving Anna looking unpleasantly surprised to find herself groping the CEO.

"OH!" she gasped, drawing her hand back to her own chest as she sat up more fully, staring at Elsa's assets. "Oh my- _what?!_ How did we- God, I'm so sorry, why was I-?"

"It's alright," Elsa sighed, face still smouldering. Other places were, too, if she let herself think about it. Which she wouldn't. "You were having… a dream, I think."

"I thought you were Hans!" she croaked, clearing her throat as she passed a hand over her eyes, giving her head a shake and staring toward the blinds covering the windows on the other side of the room. "You were warm, and I felt so safe, and it was… it was almost like it was before he…"

Hard as it was for her at that moment, Elsa laid a calming hand on Anna's forearm. "You don't n-need to explain, I heard you call his name. Really."

"But he's not my husband anymore," she groused, looking more exhausted by the thought than sad. Evidently their marriage had been dissolved a reasonable amount of time ago that she wasn't still grief-stricken, but pain like that never truly vanished. "Why do I keep… and _wow,_ I think I slobbered on your ear!"

Elsa shrugged shyly. "A fine way to wake up, under other circumstances. I'm fine."

At that, Anna let out a little nervous laugh. "Are you? Geez, I'm sorry. Okay. Wow, how much did we even drink last night?"

"Not a lot, but more than is usual for either of us." Elsa made sure to raise her eyes from the tiny belly button peeking from within her muscled stomach, but the stiffness in the centers of her breasts didn't help matters much so she quickly progressed on to her flushed face. "Er… well. So good morning, roomie." _Try for brevity._

"Um… can I say something crazy?" She fidgeted. "Your ear is soft."

"What?"

"Nothing!" she half-giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as her eyes gazed directly over Elsa's head, unable to meet her eyes. "What am I even doing right now?"

"Your lips are softer." When Anna's entire frame stopped moving even the barest inch, Elsa cleared her throat and went on, "So, er, we're up, we might as well get breakfast of some sort going."

"Hmm? Oh, y-yeah."

_She looks so confused,_ Elsa realised all at once. _As in…_ confused. _Should I say something? Should I just let her stay confused, maybe leading her to- no. That was selfish, Elsa Froiland. You're not going to start_ grooming _her for something she might not want. Let her come to it on her own._

With that needy little thought, she shook herself, wispy white bangs falling into her eyes. _Come to it on her own?! She shouldn't be doing that at all! You barely know her! A few days, and an awkward few days, at that! Pull yourself together, woman! Time to feign innocence. You remember what it was like having innocence, right? A far,_ far _distant memory, you lecherous old hag?!_

"Something the matter?"

Elsa blinked. "Eh? Oh, I- I'm fine. You?"

"Sure!" Anna piped up, smiling a little too wide, blue-green eyes bright with something not unlike fear. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, just because… no, I'm dandy! Hunky dory! Fit as a fiddle!"

Grimacing at the forced cheer in Anna's response, Elsa took her hand between both of hers. Earnestness bled through into her voice, not at all feigned or exaggerated. "If you want to talk about anything…" _Too blunt; soften that question._ "About Hans, or anything… else, we can."

"It's fine!" Anna squeaked, then closed her eyes for a few seconds to compose herself. When she reopened them, she almost looked like her normal, cheery self. "Um, what do you want for breakfast? I feel like I could eat a horse."

Elsa studied her for a moment as her face finally began to fade to its normal hue, then smirked. "How do you feel about bagels?"

~ o ~

Being that it was Sunday, Elsa took them down into the garage and unpacked her sleek silver BMW from mothballs. Anna was suitably impressed, gushing over how gorgeous it was, the bovine-safe cloned-leather upholstery, the state-of-the-art navigation interface. A few taps of her fingertip later and they had a route mapped to one of Elsa's favourite coffee houses (not that she couldn't find her way there blindfolded) and gently-pulsating ambient downtempo playing through the speakers.

"You really are like a queen of the business world," Anna sighed contentedly as she ran a hand over the dashboard.

"Queen?" Elsa laughed. "Hardly. Queens can just sit back and let her subjects do all the work. If I tried that, I'd be bankrupt - or ousted - within a month."

"So, um… about this morning…"

Elsa willfully controlled her reactions as she rolled up the exit ramp and merged into the busy Arendopolis traffic. "Yes?"

"I'm really sorry," Anna began slowly, picking at the knee of her blue jeans. She'd gone decidedly bohemian due to the casual nature of their outing. "For the whole, uh, making out with your ear. Thing. That happened."

"Don't worry about it," Elsa said flatly.

"But that's not right! For me to pull something like that? Maybe I was unconscious, sure, but you were nice enough to take me in, and- and all I gave you in return is a lobe-hickey!"

Elsa laughed at the term, partly out of nerves and partly because it was so silly. "It's not as if it felt bad, Anna. Just… unexpected. I'm sure we'll both live through this little misstep. And let's not forget the Build-A-Bird, and a home-cooked breakfast. You've given me more than you realise."

Anna seemed as if she wanted to say more on the topic but wasn't sure how, or if it was the wisest course of action. Finally, she nodded a little and sat back, worrying at whatever bone of discontent was lodged in her thoughts.

When they reached Oaken Grounds and pulled into a spot someone was just vacating, Elsa quickly thumbed the parking meter and strode inside leaving Anna to trail behind, taking in the cheery, hand-painted sign over the door and the ageing brick edifice.

"How long has this place been here?" she asked in a lower voice as they took their place in queue.

"Someodd fifty years, I'm sure," Elsa muttered, breathing in the heady scent of brewing coffee and fresh baked goods. "Wouldn't trade it for all the Starbucks in North America."

"It's so cute!" Anna giggled, staring at the bric a brac hanging from the walls and ceiling, all positioned so as to be interesting but not intrusive. "It's cute and kitschy. It's both of those."

"Indeed. Right, then…" Elsa cast around for a topic of discussion. "You seem to be even less busy on the weekend than I."

"Oh, I was plenty busy yesterday afternoon," Anna sighed. "Going over the books and whatever. Yeah, I have a guy who does that, but you gotta keep your hands in the mix if you don't want it to run out from under you." Then she dipped her head slightly as they moved forward in line a few paces. "But you know that. Geez, I'm sitting here trying to teach _you_ about business."

"You aren't. You're telling me how yours is run." When Anna didn't look up, a powerful desire to sweep her into a hug washed through Elsa… and was gone as quickly. She settled for a firm hand on the slightly-shorter woman's shoulder. "We are going to sort this disaster, you know."

"I know. I know we are, I'm… it's fine. We're up."

"Oh!" Elsa was startled to find herself staring at the bright-eyed young man with the buck teeth. "Yes. Hi, Max."

"Yello," Max said cheerily. "The usual, Miss Froiland?"

"Yes. Actually… I'll take a side of lox, as well."

He blinked in mild surprise, but recovered quickly, thumbing the display in front of him to add lox to the order he had predicted. "Great, lox, gotcha. And for your friend here?"

When Anna shrugged uncomfortably, blushing at the star-struck look she was getting from their server, Elsa stepped in. "Add an everything, a blueberry and a plain to my order, and… a grande pumpkin chai latte, made with soymilk. Chocolate soymilk."

She waited with her pulse in her throat for Anna to make any sort of complaint about the order… and she didn't. Instead, Anna was looking at her with a sort of enthrallment that made Elsa question everything she had ever said to the young exec.

"Pumpkin-soy-mocha," Max chuckled after a moment of watching them stare at each other like fools. Then he cleared his throat after a few more such moments passed. "Whenever you're ready?"

Coming back to her senses, Elsa paid for their order, noted their number and moved aside to the pickup counter.

"What is it?" Elsa asked in an undertone.

"It's… it's not like you knew what I was going to order," Anna began hesitantly. "Except… it was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted before _I_ knew what I wanted."

The warmth that crept into Elsa's cheeks refused to be held at bay, so she coughed to create an excuse for its presence. "Er… well, good then. Just somehow thought you might like my usual."

"That's your usual?"

"It is here. The office machine can't make it nearly as well, so I settle for something simpler."

Anna nodded, toying with the hem of her gauzy grey sweater. "You, um, have good taste."

_I do,_ Elsa thought obscenely as she watched the soft material ripple and stretch over Anna's chest. Then she squeezed her eyes shut. _Enough, Froiland. You're not some lovestruck sorority girl._

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Elsa meant it. If she had asked her to make out in the corner right then, she likely would have acquiesced.

"About-"

"Two pumpkin-soy-mochas, five bagels and lox!" the stocky woman cut across Anna. They both started and hurried to take their order, retreating to a pair of tall bar stools near the wall.

A few pleasant minutes drifted by in which Anna blew across the top of her huge ceramic mug to cool its contents and Elsa spread cream cheese and lox on her poppy seed bagel. When they switched tasks at almost the exact same moment, Anna giggled and Elsa briefly hid her smile behind her mug.

"I don't even think I've ever had lox," Anna commented shyly. "I'm so culturally stunted."

"You aren't. My last girlfriend was Jewish, she raved about it to anyone who would listen. Didn't take me long before I gave in - hadn't tried it before then."

Elsa's heart plummeted into her boots. _Curse it all! I said 'my last girlfriend'. That's pretty cut-and-dry. Cat's out of the bag now._

"Mmm," Anna said distractedly as a sliver fell off into the brown paper wrapping and she grimaced at her ineptitude. "One of my gal pals - Hans's brother's wife - was into trying all kinds of new things, but she never got around to pushing this on me. Lots of other, much weirder stuff, yeah…"

_WHEW._

"Have you ever tried ceviche?"

Clearing her throat, Elsa blew on her latte once more before answering. "I haven't, no."

"Don't. I mean, I guess that's some people's idea of lunch, but I'm not one of them! They don't even _cook_ it!" Her last sentence was delivered with such displeasure that Elsa laughed aloud, which made the speaker grin self-consciously. "I m-mean, who wants food poisoning from fish?!"

"That's uncooked fish there, too; lox is cold-smoked and salt-cured."

The everything bagel was halfway to Anna's mouth when she stalled, looking uncertainly between the pink mixture and Elsa's face.

"It's fine!" she giggled. "Much more dependable than citrus juice for eliminating bacteria and threat of food poisoning. You won't die from this, I promise."

"Pinky swear?"

Elsa blinked. "You what?" But then Anna's pinky was extended most of the way to her nose. When the younger woman only waited expectantly, bagel still hovering under her nose, Elsa raised her own little finger and waited for something to happen.

When Anna locked hers with Elsa's, she felt her heart rate begin climbing, her throat constrict. They now had a tacit agreement. Silly as it was, Elsa was now in some way responsible for Anna's life and well-being. Did she… like that?

Then Anna was chewing, her pinky reclaimed, and Elsa was sipping her chai, trying to collect her thoughts. _Maybe I need to stop reading so much into every little movement. These are things normal friends do. You are_ making _problems where there aren't any; stop it! Take a step back. Give this some room to breathe._

"I wanted to ask you something."

A quarter of her bagel was gone and the level of her chai was an inch or so lower when Anna put that forth. Lowering her own mug, Elsa prodded, "Go on."

"About… about last night."

_Oh, God._

"Before we, um, got completely wasted," she added with a weak little laugh. "You were really upset. I know it's probably none of my business, and you can tell me to shut up anytime, but you seemed totally keyed up and- and almost sad at the same time, and you shouldn't have to feel that way if there's anything, anything at all that I can-"

"Shh, Anna, don't…" Elsa's shoulders slumped. "You're worried about me?"

Through her palm, she could feel the table shudder when Anna's sneaker kicked the leg. "Yeah."

It seemed there was nothing else for it. "The appointment I had on Saturday made some fairly… aggressive overtures. I handled it. That's all."

"Handled it? Wait… what do you mean?" Instantly, her eyes went from squinting to wide with shock. "You mean he tried to, to- oh _God,_ Elsa, I'm sorry!"

"Listen," she began wearily, setting down her hot tea and staring directly at Anna. "Nothing came of it. In fact, I may have spared a great many women similar annoyance by instilling the fear of God in his heart. At least I hope I have. Really ought to give that Belle in accounting a ring to see how she's holding out against his advances…"

"I'm so sorry," Anna whispered, hands grasping hers firmly. "Nobody should have to go through that, least of all you! I mean, you're too important!"

Elsa smiled bitterly. "Doesn't matter how important I am."

"It does to me." Anna seemed to catch that in her own words and amended. "I m-mean, nobody has the right to that anyway, but if he can't respect you as a person, he should at least respect your position!"

"You're trying to make sense of his actions, love. You can't. And in the end, he wasn't really going to do anything to me; just try to use his size and bullying tactics to get me to agree to something against my better judgement. It was _far_ less harrowing than it could have been."

A few seconds ticked by as Anna digested both her bagel and Elsa's words. Their palms were beginning to sweat the tiniest bit, and Elsa wished she minded it more. That would be normal of her. Instead, she had to force herself not to think about how much closer it made her feel to the spunky ginger.

_This whole breakfast outing was a mistake! It's a date! It's a sodding date, you idiot, but you're the only one who knows it! Why are you holding hands with her in a public restaurant?! Why are you thinking about your sweat mixing?! Go find some number in a club to grind against and leave this poor, innocent creature alone!_

"You have a little…"

"Huh?!" Elsa cleared her throat to rid it of the hoarseness. "I m-mean, a little what?"

Nothing could have prepared her for Anna's thumb swiping at the corner of her mouth, coming away with a tiny speck of lox. An instant later, it was in Anna's mouth.

They both stared at each other quizzically. As the seconds ticked by and the sparse crowd chattered around them, a light rouge began to creep over Anna when she realised how that might seem.

"I… well, wasting food…" Hearing her pitiful excuse, she fell silent again, thumb still resting on her chin as she waited for Elsa to react.

"You…" _You can do that to me anytime. You're perfect. You can't possibly get any cuter._ "You and, er, Hans probably got very used to doing those sorts of things, didn't you?"

The comment had been intended to put her mind at ease, let her know that lapsing into old habits was only natural when you spend several years living with someone. It had the opposite effect; Anna gulped, her eyes shooting down into her own lap as her face burned.

"B-but you're not Hans."

"I'm not, but I am living with you. You're making an unconscious substitution. Don't worry so much about it."

"Are you saying that about me making out with your ear, too?" she laughed harshly, hands crumpling her napkin now. "What about when I try to crawl in bed with you after I have a scary dream? 'No big deal, you just miss Hans'? God, how lame I am…"

_I would welcome that with open arms, Anna._ "I would welcome that with open arms, Anna." _Shit. Shit, I can't un-say that now!_

Anna looked up sharply, eyebrows shooting into her fringe as she stared. "What? I mean, you would?"

Damage control. "Sure," Elsa said with a carefully-constructed friendly smile. "Naturally, I'd be startled, but not angry. If you felt afraid, I'd be too happy to help."

_Too happy is right. Too, too happy._

"Elsa…"

And now she was crying again. Fabulous. "What, what is it?"

"You're too good to me," she whispered, trying to take quick, sharp breaths to force herself not to let the tears flow. That didn't quite work, and she dabbed at her eyes with her crumpled napkin. "It's incredible how you've only known me for a few days and you can… and you accepted me into your life, and I'm such a mess and I can't even keep my own company afloat, but you don't care about that. Where did you come from that you're so perfect?"

The only response Elsa had for that was to instantly cram as much lox-coated bagel into her mouth as was humanly possible. How unladylike.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	5. Boardroom Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly more serious chapter (still a LOT of fun to write, though). The plot has been building toward this anyway, but I got distracted by fluff in #4, ahaha. And this one's also short like the last one, but at least I got it out rather quickly! Thanks to a cancelled appointment yesterday, I found a bit of extra time in the afternoon to sit down with it, and lo and behold, here we are! Prepare to be bombarded with guest stars from Disney's storied past!

"Elsa didn't tell me you were hotter than a rib house kitchen."

The aforementioned Elsa's lip curled slightly as Anna giggled under Sven Kristofferson's dark, penetrating gaze. She had known all along that he would do this. Sven couldn't resist a cute young thing. Luckily, he was more the sort who pressed every advantage until it was clear he could not win, then accepted defeat with grace. It had been that way a few years previous when he attempted to thaw the Glacier herself. Impressed by the deftness of her rebuffs, they became fast friends, gravitating toward each other at social functions when not otherwise occupied, exchanging emails, ideas, lunches. Elsa had a very business-oriented friendship with the former linebacker whose physique stretched the seams of his tailored suits, but one more solid than any she'd ever had outside of business.

She just prayed he kept his posturing to a bare minimum. They weren't here to arm wrestle for Anna's favour.

 _You're not after her favour, anyway,_ she admonished herself strongly, forcing placid disinterest back into her features.  _Snowman Home Robotics. This is about her livelihood. Worry about Sven's designs on her after lunch._

"A rib house kitchen, huh?" Anna managed to chuckle as she took the seat he had graciously pulled out for her on the other side of his desk. "That's… colorful."

"Sorry if my slang is kinda rural," he admitted with a shrug. "Minnesota farmland, born and raised. Go Vikings!"

"Yes, go," Elsa said pointedly. "Please."

Laughing, he pulled the chair out for her, as well, knowing she hated when he did that. "Alright, alright, down, Simba." Once she was seated and he'd pushed her in - a bit more roughly than was necessary, perhaps to make a point - he took his own seat behind the desk, straightening his translucent red tie. "Right, now I only blocked us off an hour to go over this so I guess we better get down to brass tacks. Really wish we didn't have to rush, though."

"Yeah, I bet you just love saving ridiculous little companies that manage to gum up their own works," Anna lamented.

"I do when it's for a worthy cause." His lazy smile left little room to guess at his insinuations, but he was already settling into business mode before Elsa could clear her throat. "Okay. So this Consortium pretty much has the whole deal sewn up. I'm afraid the only thing you can do now is let it happen."

"What?!" Elsa yelped. Recovering herself, she went on to say with slightly more decorum, "But… but I thought if we waylaid a few of the-"

"Nope," he told her with an apologetic shrug. "The transactions are all complete. There's one or two I got to in time, but to be honest, it wouldn't even make a dent at this point. Even had one of my guys go over this, just in case I missed something, but… no luck. Them's the breaks."

Trying to swallow around the lump of dread forming in her throat, Elsa shot a worried look at Anna… but the young redhead merely looked resigned. Licking her little pink lips, she whispered, "Okay. So… what can I do once that happens?"

"They're almost sure to keep you on as head," Sven went on, voice bereft of emotion. When he got like this, Elsa was reminded of the emergency room doctors of her youth, explaining that the most traumatic events of her life were instead just factors in the equation they charted out from injury to recovery. Cold, analytical, but not unnecessarily cruel. "You can step down, but that won't get you anywhere. Just… be amalgamated, stay in charge over what you can. Wish there was a plan B we could put in motion right now, but there isn't. Just ride it out."

"Thanks for bolstering her spirits, Sven. Knew we could count on you."

His huge hands raised to wave off her animosity. "Don't shoot the messenger, Froiland. You know as well as I do that this was a longshot. Do you have any idea how much I gave up to work on this the past few days?"

"Do tell," she grumbled dryly.

"You ever hear of Aurora?"

That stirred something in her memory, but Anna got there first, her curiosity peeking through the clouds of depression. "The supermodel-slash-pop star? Sure. 'Upon A Dream' is pretty catchy… don't really know the rest of her stuff." Then her eyes went wide. "Wait, what about her?"

"Let's just say that's a once-in-a-lifetime chance I'll never get back," he grunted, eyes drawing a bead on Elsa.

"Shut up!" Anna exclaimed, hands slamming down on her knees. "You're so full of it!"

"Oh yeah?" Grinning, he thumbed his navy blue wristphone, tapped a few icons and brought up a holographic projection. Next to a picture of the aforementioned blonde trendsetter, lines of text said,  _"…and don't u even bother calling i don't have time for this bs u pig."_  He then thumbed to the next text, which was even less complimentary and had Anna letting out an affronted gasp.

"Yeah, bridge burned," he laughed as he closed the message.

"It was that New Year's Eve party, wasn't it?" Elsa asked knowingly. "When you met her." He cocked a finger-gun in her direction, and she shook her head. "Always aiming for the stars, Kristofferson."

"You know it." He leaned forward on his elbows. "Now, here's what we maybe  _can_ do. Work at it a while, quietly move some stock around… and blondie here might be able to reallocate the shares into her own personal accounts, pry a few loose from the hands of the asshats. It's not a short game. We're talking maybe a year, maybe even longer than that. But all you need to do is keep Snowman producing at their usual level of excellence - and I went over your portfolio, nice work, all considered - don't let them force through any huge changes in policy that could undermine what you have going, keep the board from leaning on you too hard, and the company might actually be even better when it comes through the other side of this disaster."

"Okay," Anna said quietly.

"But you  _can't panic,_ " he stressed. "Probably already did that, yeah, but just… stay chill. You'll get through this."

Unable to look at Anna properly at that moment, Elsa smoothed the front of her black suit jacket needlessly, then adjusted her glasses and composed herself. "Very good. We'll proceed with that plan."

"We will?" Anna cleared her throat when both sets of eyes focused on her and blanched. "I m-mean, yeah, of course we will!"

"Just wish Yzma had been able to come up with something, anything," Elsa more muttered to herself than anyone as she checked her own wristphone. "But we've run out of time. She always seemed to have the magic touch…"

"Um… can I say something?"

Sven had brought up a holo-display of a spreadsheet, but he closed it immediately. "Yes?"

"Thanks, you guys. Maybe you couldn't fix all my mistakes, but you tried, and… and I'm still not sure why you're bothering, but you have no idea how grateful I am." Her lip quivered, blue-green eyes round and doleful, and Elsa found she couldn't meet those eyes without dissolving on the spot. "I w-was beginning to think nobody was left in the business world who cared about other people anymore, and then…"

Instantly, Sven was handing her a hanky. Not a tissue made from trees, but an honest-to-god monogrammed handkerchief. Elsa cursed herself for not having one of her own to proffer. "Hey, come on, it's just a setback. Those goons will get what's coming to them."

 _No, they won't,_ Elsa thought bitterly as she concentrated her vision on her inbox.  _They never really do. But perhaps we can just stop them from getting away with this single act of villainy at the end of the day._

"I have… one more power move."

At that, Sven's ears perked up in interest as he passed Anna the carrot-orange blend she had requested; Elsa hadn't even heard her ask, she was so deep in thought. "What's that?"

"It's stupid is what it is. But I think this afternoon, we're going to try it. Even if it doesn't have the desired effect, it should still help them remember who I am." Her teeth gritted. "And that more of these sorts of tactics will  _not_ be tolerated. Not by half."

~ o ~

The board met every Monday at two o'clock. Their reasoning for this was that Mondays were the most productive (a lie; everyone was lethargic from their weekend on Monday, and therefore Tuesday was more productive by far), and that by two everyone had eaten lunch and would be invigorated (also a lie, as most times the weight of food made one sleepy and inattentive). Regardless of all other factors, they corralled themselves into the room with its long mahogany table and strategically-placed viewscreens every Monday afternoon to discuss North Mountain's state of affairs.

Today was no exception to this routine until Elsa flung the doors open at roughly 2:10, storming from one end of the room to the other and taking her place behind the head of the table, remaining standing instead of sitting, her white, spider-like hands perched on the table as if she were preparing to strike. Which, in a way, she was.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, cutting off the whispers and grumblings of her colleagues. "Let us take a moment to discuss a pet project of yours that seems to have been… neglected in our meetings."

"And what might that be?" asked Dick Weselton mildly, bespectacled eyes twinkling at her from above his bulbous snout and bushy gray moustache. "You don't even know what today's topic of discussion is. You might, if you had showed up on time today, or attended last week's meeting…"

"Last Monday, I was in Los Angeles." Her voice was full of superficial politeness. "And you know I hate conference calls."

"One thing on a long list," muttered David from across the table. He was a young hotshot they had swiped from a genetics company, known for his ruthlessness in negotiations. He was also a charmer, close-cropped beard and mischievous eyes always hinting at a secret that nobody would ever learn. His gunmetal gray Italian suit probably cost more than her BMW.

"The list grows ever longer," Elsa retorted, earning her a few chuckles from other board members. Laughing with, but not at. They'd never  _dare_ laugh  _at_ her. "However, I'm more concerned at present with this."

At that, she thumbed her wristphone, and the projector in the center of the table began showing the lists of acquisitions their consortium had made over the preceding months.

A few of them had the grace to look ashamed and lowered their eyes. Others, such as David, Dick, and even Esmeralda, were satisfied or annoyed at her discovery. But only one or two heads in the room swiveled to and fro in surprise.

 _That many of them, is it?_  she thought dejectedly.  _Oh, well. I ought not be surprised._

"Where… did all of this come from?" asked Doppler in his crisp, cultured tones, adjusting his round-rimmed glasses to better confirm his fears. Bless him. "Surely there has to be a miscalculation!"

"Actually, I'd say this was fairly calculated," Elsa accused flatly as she switched to another set of figures, and then another. "For quite some time."

"Enough of that," Weselton sighed, drumming his fingertips against the table impatiently. "Making a circus show out of the whole thing."

" _I'm_ making a circus- your name is on the header of the Winter Consortium! You're behind all of this, you ungrateful old coot!"

There was a startled gasp at such a bald insult. Elsa had not been known for letting her temper get the better of her, even in personal matters.

"Really," he half-laughed, voice slightly thin from surprise at her anger, "I'm surprised at you, my dear. It's a very beneficial acquisition, especially in Arendopolis. Why shouldn't we pursue it?"

"You know this isn't how we conduct business dealings! It would have been more honest, more prudent and respectable, to approach Miss Snowman in person with an offer. Not snatched her family's entire legacy out from under her without so much as a warning!"

The room fell silent, save for a creak of a chair seat and the occasional cough.

"Miss Froiland," David said smoothly, hands folding under his chin, "It almost sounds as if you have a personal stake in  _not_ acquiring Snowman Home Robotics."

She had been expecting this one, and it did not catch her unawares. Drawing herself up, she began pacing back and forth slowly as she addressed not just David, but the board. "From the time I first found myself in charge of North Mountain, I have prided myself on dealing with all clients openly, without any need for backstabbing or under-the-table buyouts. That openness and sense of fair play is a great source of pride for me. To have it undercut by a few of my employees -  _my_ employees whom I believed to be above such subterfuge… it's the worst sort of slap in the face. It goes against everything I have ever believed."

"It's not that uncommon," Clayton spoke up from Esmeralda's elbow, enormous horse teeth clenched irritably. "You make us sound like remorseless assholes. Nobody's getting fired, no downsizing; we're just taking our own share of the profits they generate now. Also, with our resources, a new marketing campaign-"

"You could have  _asked._  Done things the way adults do them. But you didn't, you took what you wanted from your comfortable seats up here in the boardroom. Well, no more, you armchair warriors. Miss Snowman!"

There was a ripple of dismay up and down the table as the door opened again and Anna Snowman marched up to stand beside Elsa, red hair in an ornate bun, jade green jacket-and-skirt flattering her eyes and figure equally. Clutched in her hands was her e-valise as if it were the only life preserver within a thousand miles of shore.

"Tell her what you've done, Dick," Elsa said, fighting down the urge to put unnecessary stress on the syllable that was his name. "And your plans for the company her parents founded. Tell it to her face."

"That falls to the CEO, I'm afraid," Dick sidestepped, tugging at his crisp collar.

"Oh, no," Elsa chuckled harshly. "Not this time. Not when the blame for this lies with the Winter Consortium and  _not_ my stamped seal of approval."

"But you did approve it! You gave the board agency-"

"I did not! I never gave the board  _sole_ discretion, and that is what you exercised! You deliberately hid the true nature and intent of these purchases from me, and that is unacceptable!"

They were at a stalemate. Weselton's jowls quivered in fury while Elsa glared him down, icy blue eyes zeroed in on his, fists on the table. The fact that she towered over him by several inches, even when they were both standing, did nothing to sway the odds in his favour. At long last, he harrumphed and plopped back into his chair.

"Miss Snowman," David said as he rose smoothly, straightening his suit jacket and buttoning it in one smooth motion. "Allow me to offer my most sincere welcome."

"Welcome?" she gasped out, too startled at this shift in direction to maintain her composure. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"To North Mountain. You'll still be in charge of Snowman, won't you? After all, your name is on the building."

At that, she sputtered for a moment before clearing her throat. "I- well, yes, of course. I was never thinking of giving up on it, no matter what you do."

"Then I'm happy to know such a capable and enchanting young lady is among us now." And no one in the room was more surprised than Elsa when the man performed a deep bow in her direction. Except, perhaps, Anna.

"O-oh!"

"Anna Snowman, Dave Xanatos," Elsa introduced them reluctantly. He had taken all the wind out of her sails with his oily manoeuvre, and she would not forget it anytime soon.

"Just David, please."

"Okay, Just David," Anna joked feebly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Thank you. But I hope you know I'm still upset with how this played out - I wanted my company to remain autonomous."

"And it mostly will," Weselton piped up, always desperate not to be outshone by the young bucks of their herd. "You'll just be submitting a few annual reports to us, small things like that. In fact, we're sending over someone from HR to see to that for you. Nothing to worry your pretty head over."

It was all Elsa could do not to deck him for that chauvinistic comment, but she settled for exchanging an eyeroll with Esmeralda. They had both grown used to his antiquated attitudes over their many years together on the board. Then she remembered that the vivacious, olive-skinned exec was a soldier in the enemy camp and deliberately looked elsewhere.

"Good, good," David went on with his million-dollar smile. "Glad to have that unpleasantness settled; I was dreading it, to be honest. Now then, we still have the Morgendorffer merger to contend with, and I believe La Bouff wanted to go over the minutes from last-"

"Just a moment, you," Elsa snapped. "Not letting you off the hook so easily as that. A brief word about your so-called Winter Consortium."

The hush that fell over the room was so complete and strained that Elsa expected OLAF to pipe up that its audio sensors were malfunctioning and needed a system scan.

"I want it dissolved immediately."

"Really!" Weselton blustered as a few others began muttering to each other. "On the basis of what, exactly? The fact that you don't approve?"

At this, Elsa leaned heavily against the table and glared into the short-statured man's eyes, their mismatched glasses both reflecting the sunlight from the windows. "Weselton, you and I both know we could have given you a gold watch two years ago. Would you like it now, or in a few more when you've recovered all those assets you squandered on that yachting venture?"

At that, he blustered, "Y-you can't blackmail me like that!"

"How is this blackmail? You are on our payroll to look after the well-being of this company. If you're going against the ethical principles I set in place -  _and expect all of you to follow,_ " she aimed at the rest of the table, "then you are no longer fulfilling that role, and I will be happy to send you on to a blissful retirement in Tampa. If you can  _afford_ a condo in Tampa anymore."

Weselton's entire pouchy face was a blistering puce, his teeth grinding into each other as he glared daggers at the CEO. Her twin chips of ice did not fracture in the slightest, but only seemed to grow colder and more solid the longer he gazed into them. Finally, he deflated slightly and grumbled, "I'll take your opinions under advisement."

"You'll close down the consortium." It was a statement of fact, not an order or a question. He only waved a conciliatory hand, turning away from her entirely.

"Well!" Doppler exploded in a sigh. "This has been… well. Most certainly an interesting afternoon. Is anyone else a tad warm in here?"

"By the way," David continued as if he had been the last one to speak, "I wonder if you might have invited Miss Snowman out this Friday already? Seeing as how she will soon be part of the North Mountain family…"

Elsa tensed, every ounce of tempered courage leaving her like the air being let out of a balloon. Anna was already looking between the two of them curiously, not yet willing to bite the bullet and ask.

David already knew. He  _knew._  Less than a year with the company and he already had Elsa Froiland figured out, was piercing into her every darkest secret. What if this Winter Consortium had been his idea from the beginning? What if he was going to eventually present a real and considerable danger to everything she was and cared for?

"I hadn't," Elsa replied blithely. "Barely given it a moment's thought myself, to be honest with you. But she needn't feel obligated."

"Obligated?" he laughed easily. "It's a ball, not a firing squad."

"Lifts and elevators," she grunted. "You call it what you want, and I'll call it what I want."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt this, um… weird thing you're doing," Anna said with a nervous laugh, "but what are we talking about, exactly?"

The smile he turned on Anna was considerably less predatory than the one he'd been aiming at Elsa a moment prior. "The North Mountain annual gala. Think of it as a company picnic, except the plates are a few hundred dollars and the proceeds go to charity."

"Really?" Her brows knitted the tiniest bit in interest. "Which charity?"

"Gifted program for public schools," Elsa supplied, much happier to be talking about this than the ball itself. "Specifically outreach, but also the programs themselves. Helps find those children who could excel if given a bit of polish, in spite of financial or familial straits."

"Any reason to pick that one over another one?"

Anna seemed very interested in that, and Elsa found herself smiling warmly in spite of herself and their surroundings. "I was lucky; my parents were well off. My potential was reached. A little girl or boy living with a single parent who can't afford proper clothes might be equally bright but stand no chance to make something of themselves. This evens the playing field."

At that, the grin that spread across the freckled face sent a flutter through Elsa that she wanted to capture, seal in a hunk of amber and keep in a prominent place in her home forever, out on display for all to see. "Everybody deserves a chance."

"Great!" When David's hands came together in a clap, everyone jumped slightly. It wasn't even a terribly loud clap. "Where shall I have my driver meet you?"

"M-meet me?" Her eyelashes fluttered, hand raising to straighten her lapel defensively. "What, are you… are you trying t-"

"You needn't bother," Elsa cut in, leaning toward David slightly. "She's on my route, I'll see she arrives in mint condition. Generous of you to offer, though."

_Take that, you womanising jackass._

"On your route?" Anna said with a blast of exasperated laughter. "But I'm…"

Elsa's glare did the trick. It silenced her, severed the chain of her following words and left them evaporating into wisps of smoke. She only hoped she could apologise for her shortness later.

"Then I will look forward to seeing what 'mint condition' looks like," David followed smoothly, only the tiniest bit derailed by the CEO's meddling. At last, he took his seat again. "Now, did you want to sit in on the rest of the meeting, Miss Snowman? Perhaps you could lend this stuffy old room some fresh perspective."

"No, thank you," she said politely, dipping her head. "I, um, I have an appointment downtown."

"I'll see you out," Elsa said calmly. "Dick, David… board." There were a few muttered salutations as she led Anna from the room, nodding and smiling at both Anita and Doppler, two of the members who hadn't been invited to undermine her authority along with the rest of the Consortium. She appreciated their moral fibre more than ever now.

"Whew," Anna gusted once they were several paces away from the doors.

"Yes," Elsa agreed. "Whew."

"Did I do okay?"

Elsa spared her a surprised look as she thumbed the button for the lift. "You what? Of course, don't be silly. You were fabulous; they were squirming in guilt at having to look into your sweet, honest face and realise that they had run roughshod over your legacy without so much as a second thought."

"Sweet and honest, huh?" Anna said with a tiny smile. "Guess there are worse things you could call my face."

 _There are better things I could call it, though,_ Elsa reflected wistfully.  _Pages and pages and books full of them._

"Um… so when I was about to tell them I lived with you…"

Elsa nearly stumbled as she entered the elevator, grabbing at the wall for support. "Y- I… okay, yes, I did interrupt you. I'm sorry."

"Why, though? I mean, what's the big deal?"

 _David knows. That impish little weasel knows._ "Could be seen as a conflict of interest, couldn't it? Me defending my flatmate's business merely because we share four walls."

Anna chewed on her lip as they descended. Elsa tried her best not to watch the slick, supple flesh give slightly under the pearly-white teeth. Tried not to think about her own teeth doing that instead. "Okay, yeah, I see your point. You didn't have to lie, though."

"Lie? You're not on my way to the ball? Because if another room in my own penthouse suite isn't en route for me, then I don't know what you would consider-"

"Okay, okay," Anna giggled with a roll of her eyes. "I guess you did tell them the truth. You just packaged it so they'd think something different."

As the doors dinged open and revealed the sparkling lobby, full of suits rushing back and forth, Elsa gestured for Anna to precede her with a wry smirk. "Miss Snowman, that's all business is, didn't you know?"

_\- To Be Continued -_


	6. Game-Changer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: Sorry this one took over a week! It really shouldn't have, but it did, and for that you have my apologies. Real life problems and friends in crises partly waylaid me, but honestly? I was being lazy for the better part of this week. Then a couple of days ago, I said, "ENOUGH STALLING!" And here we are. Hope you enjoy this chapter, what with all the angst that I'm about to drop on you.
> 
> Oh, yes… it's going down.
> 
> (Also, thanks to Stephydee89 and Catie/kissingannasfreckles for helping me title this chapter! ...and to Notsherlock for dancing. Because he really seemed to need validation for that.)
> 
> Jessex

"Do you know what kind of office I'll be getting, at least?"

Elsa pursed her lips as their aircab gradually drew nearer to the destination. "No, Kai, I haven't the faintest idea. Never even driven past it before."

The pudgy man adjusted the cuffs of his moss-green suit and better balanced his e-valise across his insubstantial lap. "Well, I'm not complaining. The raise in pay will suit the missus well enough." Still discomfited, an eye rested on Elsa as he asked in an undertone, as if their taxi driver might be some sort of villainous spy, "Are you sure you want to hand me off to this ragtag little company? Not that I'm sad for the opportunity to be in charge of the entire financial division - it's a feather in my cap, no doubt - but I mean… surely there are a dozen newbies who could just as easily fill that position and you'd miss them far less."

Lips twitching into a rueful smirk, she responded in kind. "I trust you to run a tight ship. More importantly, I…  _trust_ you."

"Eh?" His orange-hued eyebrows drew together. "You suspect someone was cooking the books?"

"Not at all. But I suspect they  _could_ be if I were to send someone with less moral fibre than our man Kai Hall, if you catch my meaning."

A few seconds went by as he blinked. Then he looked over his shoulder, af it to glimpse the North Mountain headquarters in their wake, though it was long gone around several corners and other skyscrapers. "No… goodness, no. Not under  _your_ watch, Miss Froiland!"

"Afraid so. Wasn't for lack of trying, but these things can sometimes happen."

"Mmm." To her surprise, his hand flew into his breast pocket and produced a small, translucent patch, which he removed from its nonstick backing and slapped behind his ear.

"Is… that an airsick patch?"

"It is. I feel queasy now."

Smiling warmly, she gripped Kai's arm with genuine affection. "This is why I'm sending a decent sort such as yourself, you know."

"Just wish it wasn't necessary, ma'am."

Eyes haunted, she turned to gaze out the window again while muttering, "We agree on that."

Within the next minute or two, the aircab was coming in for a landing on the pad atop Snowman Home Robotics. It was a modest building for the entire works of a company, but still dwarfed most of the other structure in the neighbourhood. There was less glass and chrome in its makeup and more stonemasonry, and some elegant gothic scrollwork added a nice touch. Elsa's heart was instantly at ease looking upon the edifice. Whoever they contracted to design their headquarters, they had chosen well.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped in some surprise as the pulse of the hover-pads and air lifters carried their ride off into the skyway. Her windswept ginger locks were fluttering free today, and as the currents buffeted them Elsa's hands ached to run her fingers through them, to smooth each strand back into place and hold them fast. "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought- well, wasn't I supposed to meet Mr. Hall today?"

"You were," she called as the racket subsided to the dull roar of Arendopolis's bustling workforce. "Just thought I'd pop 'round and see where you perform robotic miracles."

And then Anna's arms were around her, and her knees turned to water. Only Kai's presence forced her to remain mostly rigid, hand briefly patting Anna's shoulder. If he had been absent, she might have done something both of them would have regretted.

"Sorry!" Anna burst out as she drew back, grinning sheepishly. "That was pretty rude, what's wrong with me? Nice to meet you, Mr. Hall, thanks for coming!"

"OH!" he gasped out as she began pumping his hand up and down vigorously. "Y-yes, of course, Miss Snowman! It's a pleasure!"

"Maybe you can turn us into a cash cow again!" she joked as she quickly led them to the elevators. "From what Elsa tells me, you're a genius accountant! Crap - excuse me a second, I have to talk to Donalds before he leaves -  _Donalds!"_

As she dashed toward the man in the blue suit who was approaching a waiting aircab near the corner, Kai turned knowing eyes toward Elsa.

"Don't even start."

"Another redhead, ma'am?"

"I told you not to start," she growled warningly.

"I haven't said a thing!" he protested robustly, hands raised in defence. "But if I  _were_ to say something, it would merely be that it's about time. How many years has it been since y-"

 _"Drop it."_ When Kai pursed his lips and did the little lock-and-key motion in front of them, she rolled her eyes. "It's alright, and I didn't mean to snap at you, but… she's right over there!"

"And?" Then his eyes lit with understanding and his expression turned sympathetic.  _"Ah._ Sorry, but the way she hugged you, I assumed- well, I am sorry."

"Quite alright," she reiterated begrudgingly.

"Okay!" Anna gasped out as she jogged back over to them. Somehow, the combination of teal blouse, blue jeans and white sports jacket didn't look entirely ridiculous on the young exec, and Elsa smiled when she realised she was actually wearing tennis shoes. Trainers to the office? Easily made her feel overdressed in her beige business ensemble. "Um, so you guys want the grand tour? I promise it will be super boring!"

For the next hour or so, the two North Mountain mainstays trailed along behind Anna as she pointed out various features. A lot of these were in the factories downstairs, the packaging and assembly branches, and here and there she shared a memory from her childhood or something her parents had related to her. A cornerstone of the building had a plaque on it, declaring the date and time it had been laid. Elsa's heart seized. This really was far more than a company to her new flatmate. It was everything about her life that she still had to hang onto.

"And this… was my mother and father's office."

"They shared an office?" Elsa asked offhandedly as she stared around the ornate, wood-panelled room with its shelves full of books and various old keepsakes. As was traditional these days, it was situated two floors beneath the aircar pad to allow for possible crash-and-collapse per city safety regulations. There were indeed two desks, though one of them appeared to be largely ornamental of late. How coupley could you get?

"Here they are," Anna said softly, gesturing to a painting that hung opposite the windows. A kindly brown-haired man with an extremely-pronounced beard stood next to a vital-looking redhead, both of them grinning. The man seemed familiar to Elsa somehow, but she suspected she'd come across a picture of him during her research into Snowman Home Robotics and its history. "Colin and Alicia. Double the trouble. They knew how to keep this company thriving like they were dancing the Charleston - which they could also do really well. Used to entertain everybody at the company's New Year's Ball with their footwork. Couple o' crazy kids."

Elsa wanted to comfort her. She wanted to draw her into a hug and never let her go, and not simply from her less respectable intentions. Because Anna was unhappy in a world without her family. Couldn't she console her friend, or would it be crossing an unspoken boundary?

"Anna-"

"So!" Anna said brightly as she turned, clapping her hands together, cheeks bunched with cheer that may have only partly been false. "Either of you have any questions about Snowman, a North Mountain subsidiary?"

At those words, Elsa nearly deflated, but kept herself looking mostly professional. "Please don't throw it back in my face, you know this isn't what I wanted."

Anna's smirk was slightly subdued. "It's called 'gallows humour', Froiland. Just trying to get used to the idea."

"If you two black comedians are finished?" Kai interrupted gently, hefting his e-valise. "Where do I set up shop? Really, anywhere is fine, just as long as I know that's where I'm supposed to be."

"God, I am so rude today, what is up with me?!" Laughing at her lightly-blushing self, Anna made for the door.

"Listen-" Elsa began again, and was interrupted again.

"Let's get a move on so Mr. Hall can settle in. He's got a lot of catching up to do, right?"

Once they had gone down two floors and shown Kai into a corner office roughly double the size of all the nearby ones (but still dwarfed by the one Anna normally occupied), the two of them left him to the tottering stack of old paper files and the equally-disorganized digital ones. As they rode up in the elevator, Elsa whispered, "It's a lovely premises."

"Thanks," Anna said briskly. "I'm pretty partial to it."

It was then Elsa noticed that Anna had pushed the button for the roof. "Oh, I… oh."

"Hmm?"

"Well, just I had been expecting to be here until lunch."

"Oh," Anna said, startled out of her sour mood. "Why?"

"Well, to spend time with you, obviously." Her heart suddenly got snagged somewhere as their elevator rose, and she felt it plummeting away from her as she followed with, "If you want to! That is, you come around to my office but I've never been to yours, and- but if you have work to do, naturally I should be on my way. Don't want to be an imposition."

"You're not!" Anna burst out, taken aback. "Oh God, I- wow, I'm so sorry, Elsa, I was all caught up in this merger and feeling sorry for myself, and I wasn't thinking about… aw, man." As the elevator dinged open at the roof, she said, "I apologise."

"For what?" Elsa said politely. "You can't help it if you're cross with me for being inadvertently responsible for your current predicament."

"Sure I can! I can grow up and stop being a whiny baby!"

The way Anna's clenched fists made her look like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of a department store forced a bemused smile onto Elsa's face. "That aside, if I'm reminding you of things you'd rather not be thinking about right now, so obviously I should be on my way."

"I have leftover Chinese down in my mini-fridge," Anna told her firmly. "And some cereal pouches if you haven't had breakfast yet."

"Cereal pouches? Aren't those… for childr-"

"They are delicious and convenient!" Anna blustered, folding her arms over her chest in defiance. "Especially now that they are higher in fibre content!"

Elsa chuckled lightly, looking down at her taupe heels as the lift doors slid shut again. They seemed to keep doing that, neglecting to accomplish what they walked into the elevator to do in the first place. "Prove it to me, then."

Down in the office, Elsa wound up selecting one Nutberry Squeeze, while Anna herself enjoyed a Crunchy Chocorama. She was already halfway through her pouch when Elsa took the first cautious sip.

"It disturbs me that I feel it reconstituting in my mouth," Elsa said around the mouthful of cereal that magically appeared in place of the viscous substance that had been in the packet a moment ago.

"You've really never had one?" Anna asked, brownish milk dribbling down her chin before she swiped at it with her hand. As she snagged a napkin from a drawer, the redhead swallowed before saying, "Man, what kind of sheltered childhood did you have?"

"Very. My parents didn't believe in anything that was for common folk. They also didn't believe in 'fads' or novelties." Elsa gave a helpless shrug as she turned the sachet over to browse the nutritional information. "Wasn't any fun, as I told them on countless occasions, but I suppose I survived."

Nodding, Anna finished off her pouch and tossed it in the recycler. "I was kind of spoiled, I guess. Not in getting everything I wanted, but like… in being allowed to try new things. Dad would try to spoil me rotten, and Mom would kind of make the call whether or not it was okay on a case-by-case basis. Really miss that… having somebody to filter out what could be too much of a good thing for me." She then propped her feet up on the desk, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back in her desk chair, sighing at the ceiling. "So what do you really think?"

"Mmm?" Elsa replied around another mouthful.

"About Snowman. You have bigger companies to look after, ones you've visited. So give it to me, the straight dope. What shot do I have?"

Frowning, she sat the half-empty pouch on the desk. "You have every shot! Come now, we've discussed this; simply because you went through hard times doesn't m-"

"I know," Anna grunted, apparently chafing at Elsa's attempt to coddle her. She turned her gaze to the other desk in the office. "Just… I'm failing them, you know? Not because I didn't try, but because I didn't learn from them enough. Didn't inherit their knack."

Elsa found herself distinctly uncomfortable. She was typically no good at comforting people, but Anna made her want to try harder than she had for anything in recent memory. "Perhaps you just haven't developed the skill enough yet. You are at the start of your career, not the finish! Acumen will come in time."

"But I'm  _out_ of time," Anna whispered sadly. "Look at his chair, Elsa. Nobody's ever going to sit there again, and in a year or two, mine will probably be empty, too. And I'll just be a cog in the wheel of somebody else's legacy. Maybe it'll be yours, and that's not so bad, I guess… but I still…"

Unable to stand it any longer, Anna nearly flung herself from the chair and strode to the windows, looking out over the nearby buildings. When her shoulders began shaking, Elsa followed with hesitant steps, sorting through a thousand possible responses to this situation.

"You're going to think I'm stupid," Anna said in a grief-soaked whisper, "but… the last thing I said to my father was that I didn't want to take over this company. That I didn't care about his life's work."

"Erhm… weren't you five when he died?"

Anna shrugged. "So? What a little brat I was."

"How were you to have known or understood at five that you could lose him? Or what the company meant to him? It isn't fair to put that kind of pressure on your infant self."

"It doesn't matter! He's still gone, and I still… I'm paying for it now! Because now I don't get to keep our Snowman! Which is the last thing I told him, and it- and it happened, even though I changed my mind later! No takesies-backsies, right?!"

Elsa's hand clamped down on Anna's upper arm, but she shrugged it away. So much for that. Elsa had only taken a half-step back in retreat, debating leaving the room at the least and the entire building at the most, giving her time and space, when Anna turned and flung herself against the elder exec, sobbing without reservation into her taupe lapels.

 _Christ,_ Elsa thought frantically, hands already hovering over Anna's back.  _Now what?! How do I do this without putting too much of myself, my feelings, into it? I can't handle this sort of pressure!_

The decision was brought to a head when she felt Anna stiffen self-consciously, her grip on Elsa's shoulders shifting instead of remaining tight. She was about to pull away, probably to apologise for losing her composure. Elsa was going to fail this test of friendship with entirely deplorable marks. Half-seconds remained.

"No, no," she whispered, her own voice tight, smoothing over Anna's back as lightly as she could, eventually moving one hand up to rest on her ginger crown. "Mustn't talk like that."

"Sorry," Anna sobbed, still rigid, still undecided. "I… this isn't your job, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore, you-"

"It's alright. Let it go if you must. I… you have me. You have me here and now, and I won't abandon you."

That was dangerously close to an admission, but she hoped it straddled the line.

"You're here…" Anna's voice hitched as she sobbed again, grinding her face against Elsa's jacket and button-down. "It's so fricking ridiculous! I still want to blame you for everything, still feel part of myself resenting you, and yet h-here you are, the only person in the world who can make me feel any b-better! What the hell  _is_ that?!"

"Please, Anna, I- all I want is to help, any way I can. This isn't enough, though, I just… how could I have let this happen to you? How could I have lost control of my own boardroom at the precise moment it meant hurting the person that…"

Correction: she hadn't been dangerously close a moment ago.  _Now_ she was.

After a moment, Anna drew back to gaze up at Elsa in mild confusion, bleary eyes searching. "The person that…?"

Elsa's face twitched slightly, and she dropped her eyes away, unable to speak, having no way to refute what she had been about to say or turn it into something else. A few lies tried to bubble up from the darker parts of herself, but how could she use one while staring into those wide, innocent blue-green orbs below her?

Then Anna's eyes dropped to her own fingers playing across beige jacket-shoulders. Her head leaned back slightly, feeling a comforting hand there. Milliseconds later, she appeared to be more frightened than Elsa had ever seen her.

The words tumbled from Elsa's lips before she could stop them. "What are you thinking?"

"I…" She had made to answer immediately, but then behaved as if she had come to the end of a hallway only to find a familiar door was missing. Unsettled. Out of place. Lost. "Um…"

"Tell me."

Anna swallowed thickly, face slowly fading to a chalky hue. "I w-was… thinking that I wished Hans could have treated me… like this. Like you do."

Immediately, Elsa was all too aware of Anna's nearness, of how their chests were pressing against each other, of one of her knees up against a foreign one. The roughness of the denim on her skin below her hemline. Anna's breath was falling hot on her chin and neck.

Two of Anna's fingers were on her cheek, thumb on her chin. Anna looked as if she had no idea her hand was acting of its own accord. She looked completely beside herself. She looked like a ghostly goddess trying to divine her true purpose in the moment or else she could never return to the ascended plane to which she belonged.

A chime sounded from Anna's desk.

Explosively, the two flung themselves away from one another, panting and shaking. Elsa was the first to turn away, pressing her hand into her own face. "I… Anna, this…"

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry!" she burst out in a strangled whisper.

"No, don't be sorry!" Anna said, her voice strong even while vibrating with thick emotion. "Just… just tell me what it was, Elsa, I need to understand, I need you to tell me because I, I… I have no idea!"

The laugh that escaped Elsa's throat was so bleak it barely qualified as one. "What makes you think I understand any more than you?"

"Because you are older and smarter and better than me, so if you don't know, then how am I supposed to figure it out?!"

"Not better." Elsa turned to find Anna's still-white face staring at her, pleading, desperate. "Nothing about you is inferior to me. To anyone."

"I'm- wait, what?"

"Anna, don't you understand how unparalleled you are?"

The desk chimed again. Anna ignored it, mouth working to produce a word, any word, and finding that she had none. One of her hands raised to reach for Elsa before falling uselessly away.

"You'd probably better see to that," Elsa bade her softly.

"Gerda can wait." Collecting herself, she strode over and grabbed Elsa by the forearm, teeth gritted. "Elsa, I have to know what just happened here. I've never felt anything like that before!"

Lip trembling, Elsa told her, "I couldn't stand hearing you like that, I… only wanted to help. To make you feel less miserable, even if just a bit."

"Bullshit."

At that word, Elsa felt her anger rising. Jaw clenching, she growled, "No, it isn't."

"It is. That's not all you wanted."

"It was." When Anna merely stood staring expectantly, everything exploded. "What do you think you know, anyway?! How are you such an expert on my inner workings?! I'm telling you I saw you hurting and wanted to do whatever I could to ease your pain, and you say I'm a liar! Damn, but that's rich, that is! Where do you get off?!"

"I'm not-"

"Isn't it enough that you mean so much to me? That I want to help?! That I can't resist helping you whenever possible?!"

She took several ragged breaths before chancing a look at Anna. She still looked frightened. No, beyond frightened - she looked scared out of her wits.

"Elsa…"

"See to your call," she breathed shakily, trying to take a step and stumbling, but Anna's arm was still on hers and kept her upright. Then the other one slipped up to rest on her neck, and Elsa's mind became a blank slate.

"Elsa, please."

Tears fell from the CEO's lashes. "Don't. You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because we have a working relationship and a domestic arrangement. Because things are already too tangled and complicated as it is."

Anna jerked her hand back, but the other one didn't leave Elsa's arm. It was such a curious mixed reaction that Elsa turned to look at Anna again, belatedly remembering she would be revealing the strain and grief in her own features.

Anna was still frightened, but also determined. Her lips were working up the courage to speak again, eyes crinkling at the corners in something akin to pain.

"H… h-how long?"

"How long for me, or how long has it been you?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Wh- what do you mean, it's me?" Then she blinked that away. "You know what? I don't even know what I'm asking, let alone what answers I want."

"Anna, all you have to know is that in the short time we've known each other, I already count you among my dearest friends," Elsa rushed ahead, words jostling each other, each attempting to emerge first. "And whatever you're thinking right now is so vastly unimportant in the face of that, alright? So just… so just set it aside and forget about it, please. I'm begging you to do that for me."

Only now did Anna start crying. "What are you saying? I mean so much to you th-that… that you want to bury the lead, t-to put me above your own… your own-"

"I'd rather you not finish that, actually."

"God, that's terrible! I m-mean, it's beautiful, but it's unfair!"

Gritting her teeth again, Elsa jerked her arm free. She couldn't handle being touched by Anna any longer, not while maintaining her good sense. And her self-control. "It is more than fair. And if I truly were doing something beautiful, I could do it without… mucking it up."

"Who says you mucked anyth-"

"Your face says I have!" she bellowed. "Look at you, you're so… I never wanted to see you looking that way, much less at my hand, Anna! How could I have let this happen, how could I have been so stupid and careless?!"

"Elsa, stop!" Anna sobbed. "Please, just stop shouting, you're not- this is hurting me!"

Everything grew quiet for several eternal seconds. The desk chimed yet again. Trembling like a leaf, the elder woman started backing toward the door. "I am hurting you, aren't I? I knew it. Knew it would come to this. Knew you would get hurt in the end. Every sodding time."

Stricken, Anna took a desperate step forward. "No, God, that's n-not what I-"

"See to your call, Anna, I… can show myself out."

"Elsa, wait! You can't leave now, not in the middle of-"

But she was already barrelling out the doors and down the hallway, thumb jabbing into the elevator button. Footsteps sounded behind her, but the lift dinged and admitted her, and in she went, thumbing for the roof.

At the far end of the hallway, she saw Anna looking entirely at a loss, one hand raised as if to grasp something spectral that was eluding her. The hurt and confusion in her eyes cut straight through Elsa's heart, leaving it a gory mess.

_Now you've done it, imbecile._

Half an hour later found her in another aircab, approaching the North Mountain property. She was a nauseated, shivering wreck of a woman, huddled up against the door and half-hoping the safety measures would glitch and let her tumble the many stories to the pavement below.

 _You can't do this again,_ she was mentally berating herself.  _Not after last time. She almost died, and it was your fault, no matter how indirectly. Nobody should have to go through that again, least of all someone as sweet and kind, as sharp and unflappable as that astounding young thing you just utterly destroyed today. So forget it. Forget about her and let her move on._

As if by divine intervention, that was the very instant a slight hum and vibration at her wrist told her she had a text.

Swiping at her misty eyes, she pulled it up to find with no small amount of surprise that it was from Anna. Already? She didn't want to read it. She couldn't read it.

When the text opened a few seconds later, one short, terse line glared up at her from the holographic display:

_I will b home 4 dinner and so will u or else._

Grinning in spite of herself, Elsa closed the text and watched as the dock came into view. How could any one person make her feel both bitterly sorrowful and amused in the very same instant? There should be a law against that.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	7. Investment Assessment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotta drama in this chapter. Well, not so much drama as figuring things out post-drama. It's almost a throwaway installment except that it's such a crucial stepping stone in their relationship. Anyway, had to get it done and over with so the next few chapters can go the way I want them to. Boy, was this hard to write, though!
> 
> As to all the people who found themselves "confused" by the latter half of chapter 6… good. Everybody was confused. That's the point, to leave the reader feeling how Anna and Elsa felt. And if you can't tell why Elsa keeps trying not to allow herself to have another relationship, maybe you should pay attention to when other characters mention her previous ones. (Hell, it even happened in the same chapter.) But hopefully this chap will answer all questions - at least the ones ready to be addressed! -mad cackling-
> 
> Jessex

The hour was abysmal when Elsa Froiland trudged into her living room. She had expected it to be empty by then. It wasn't.

"You can't be serious."

"Dinner was six hours ago," Anna breathed into the darkness from her perch on one end of the couch. The only difference Elsa could see in her between now and when they had last spoken was the absence of the sport jacket and her hair being pulled back. Had she really been sitting there since mealtime? "It's cold now."

Glancing to one side, Elsa saw the half-dozen empty takeout containers on the counter. The pang it gave her barely registered after a full day of international teleconferencing, crunching numbers and internal torture. "I've eaten. At the office."

"Right."

"And I'm off to bed."

 _"Wrong."_ Anna's voice gave no room for argument.

"Fine," Elsa gusted as she literally tore her heels from her feet and flung them at the closed door to her bedroom. When they struck with a double-thump, Anna only flinched the tiniest amount. "That's fine. Let's have it out right here and now, in the dead of night! Makes as much sense as the rest of my life, I suppose!"

"Have what out?" Anna's voice was pure steel, but her face was impassive. "I haven't been waiting here all night to scream at you or whatever. I'm only a little miffed you tried to avoid me."

That cut through Elsa's sour mood like a hot knife through butter. Support structure of anger and self-loathing beginning to crumble, she asked, "Then why…?"

"Park your posterior." Against her own better judgement, Elsa took a nearby chair. "Good. Now, let's start at the beginning."

"Beginning of what?"

"Of when you started having feelings for me."

Instantly, her face began to heat up and her head felt light. "Not sure what you're talking about."

"Come on!" Anna sighed in exasperation, head dipping to one side, ponytail swaying gently. "After all that in the office? You pretty much told me that it was our working relationship and living situation that kept you from… well, wanting to be more. And what's more than friends? Hint: it's a simple question with a simple answer."

"Nothing, Anna.  _Nothing_ is more than friends. That is the utmost, and worth far more than… than a so-called 'deeper' bond."

"I don't know if I buy tha-"

"Then check your bank statement, because it's the truth, damn it! Do you have any notion of how few good friends I have?! I would sacrifice  _anything_ to keep you among their number!" Looking away from Anna at last, she pressed her middle finger to one temple and thumb to the other. "Yes, I know it's weird because we just met, and yes, I know you have no reason to trust me now that… that this secret has been revealed. But can't you try to believe me?"

"I believe you."

The simplicity of the response knocked Elsa over with its feather-lightness. "Really?"

Anna tried to smile, valiantly. It mostly worked. "Hey, it looks to me like this is kind of killing you. Holding that against you when you're clearly not doing it for kicks, I- I can't even imagine doing it. Just… why couldn't you tell me? Did you really think I was one of those, those homophobic nutjobs who'd think any less of y-"

"No, no," Elsa hurriedly assured her. "Though I'd be lying if I said the worry never crossed my mind, but mostly… no, who would believe that of you?"

Anna waited a moment for Elsa to elaborate. She didn't. She simply stared down at her knees, at her toes rumpling the area rug beneath them out of nerves. "Then I… come on, help me a little."

"I didn't want you to know how I look at you. How I think about you. It's dangerous."

"How is it dangerous? You wouldn't hurt me."

"Not hurt you. But… I could do things that might make you uncomfortable, or distressed, or even simply disappointed, and that's bad enough!"

"So go ahead." When Elsa looked up sharply, blue eyes wide with disbelief, Anna instantly averted her own eyes from the intensity there, from the cold fire. "N-not giving any promises of how I'd react, but we are both mature adults! Why shouldn't you be who you are? I can handle it."

Elsa simply gaped at her freckle-faced companion, bottom lip slightly hanging open as she tried to process this latest development. "You're going to be okay if I…" She couldn't even finish. For some reason, even the very thought of acting on her idle fantasies made her feel ill, as if she were tainting something so pure that it was a crime against nature. "No. Not you, I couldn't."

Anna shrugged, though her hands were shaking from where they lay clasped on her lap. "Then don't. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, either! Just… geez, I really hate to think about you not being yourself around me, trying to change yourself for my sake, that's- please don't, okay? Just be Elsa Froiland. And…"

When the pause had gone beyond pregnant and carried nearly to full term, Elsa prompted, "And?"

"And… you're my friend, too. And I trust you." A quiet, wary laugh. "We did just meet, but so what? Everybody's gotta start somewhere."

"How can you be so casual? You just… handed me license to make advances. To treat you as more than a friend and see how it goes. It's been very,  _very_ few women I've met who are open to that from the off. Well, ones I didn't meet at…"

After several seconds of tense silence, Anna hazarded a guess. "Gay bars?"

_"Shhh!"_

"Why should I shush?" Anna snickered quietly. "It's not like somebody's hiding behind the couch with a recording device!"

"I've never been comfortable there. In the 'scene'. Receive enough attention, yes, but it… God, I'm so anxious and shy there. It's the opposite of how I carry myself in the boardroom. And I hate it. That isn't me, and I despise that other version of myself."

Anna's face began to soften slowly, losing some of the tension it had been holding onto since long before Elsa walked in from the world. "You're not a dater, okay. And finding, um, available girls is harder when you don't know if they'd be interested. I get it."

"You don't!" Elsa sighed weakly, flopping against the back of her chair. "No reason you should, either. My position makes me susceptible to character assassination. It's a sad and unfair truth, but knowing I'm…"

"A lesbian," Anna prompted.

"A lesbian," Elsa growled distastefully.

"Why can't you say it?"

She shrugged helplessly. "Not really sure. Just… it's partly that I don't want to draw attention to my romantic affiliations whatsoever. Exposing myself to jibes seems foolish, doesn't it?"

"Who would dare make fun of-"

"You saw my board of directors. Mostly old, white, straight, and male."

Frowning, Anna nodded her assent. "Guess so."

"Beyond that, though, I just dislike the label. It may be appropriate, but I've never thought of myself that way. Probably sounds silly."

"Well, maybe you're not. Maybe you're a trans-man. See? If you were, the label wouldn't really fit, anyway!"

Blinking in surprise, Elsa leaned forward slightly, frowning in concentration at the suddenly cheery redhead in front of her. "You… what would you know about trans folk, anyway?"

"I had a roommate in college," Anna went on as if annoyed at having to reroute her train of thought. "She had been a 'he' when I first met her. We even went through the gender-neutral pronoun phase, but um, that always kind of confused me, to be honest- I kept mixing them up, and then I'd feel terrible even though she said she didn't mind, and I swear I was  _trying_ not to be a-"

"Wait, hold up right there," Elsa interrupted with a slight laugh, heart warming considerably. "I am most definitely a woman. I did go through a questioning phrase when I realised I fancy girls, but it didn't last long in my case. Very comfortable with my identity, but… thanks for asking, at any rate."

Anna waffled. "You're mad."

"No, I meant that! Thank you for asking." Clearing her throat, she leaned her arms against her knees and stared at her hands as they folded over each other. "Unfortunately, that's part of the problem we have. You're just too perfect sometimes."

No answer came right away. Minutes passed before the hesitant whisper asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Elsa burst out as if the words had literally been pressing against her teeth from the moment after she last spoke. "That you even thought to ask if I might be trans… it's leagues beyond what I had any right to expect. To be frank, I expected you to realise you were cohabitating with a muff diver and run screaming into the night. That you even made it  _to_ this conversation is incredible, and here you are trying to help  _me_ figure everything out? You cannot be real. You have to be some sort of fantastic daydream."

"I am scared."

"Wh-what?"

Anna was picking at her nail polish when Elsa observed her next, staring at it intently as she destroyed the painstaking work of the night previous. "Not of you, just… of what it means. Of why I would be somebody you're attracted to. Seriously, I know I'm not completely ugly or anything, but this… it really is the first time anybody of the female persuasion has…"

When Anna didn't elaborate, the CEO scooted a few inches toward her and said in soft, low tones, "You mustn't think like that, alright? It's all me. Time has proven that I usually find myself attracted to women who are completely unavailable."

"Well, not  _completely,_ " she half-snorted. "I am divorced and all that."

"Don't toy with me," Elsa growled as she stood and anxiously paced into the kitchen, flicking on the light and pawing through the multitude of containers. Pad Thai with no peanuts. She remembered. "You're being very good about this, but we're not at the stage where you can make jokes quite yet."

"Who's joking?"

The question came from directly behind her. Elsa whirled, the plastic fork dropping from her hand as Anna stepped closer. Socked feet shuffling, she whispered, "So, um… what if, hypothetically speaking… you have me unsure whether or not I'm straight? Hypothetically."

Heat burned in Elsa's stomach as she watched the light blush creep into Anna's face, obscuring the freckles. She didn't look entirely at ease with herself, but neither did she looked terrified or disgusted.

"You don't mean this."

"Why don't I?" Anna asked with a touch of defiance.

"Because," Elsa sighed as she leaned back against the counter. "You just found out an acquaintance of yours is gay and you're over-identifying. It's sweet, but… please don't change everything about yourself based on that. It isn't a good enough reason."

"This wouldn't change me that much! Just… maybe I could be bi! I mean, I did love Hans up until he showed his true colours - and he was fantastic in bed, in spite of everything."

"See there? You-"

"But what if you're fantastic, too?"

That heavily-loaded question left both women speechless and gaping at each other. Anna was beginning to understand how she sounded, perhaps belatedly, and took a tiny step backward.

"Anna-"

"Okay, I'm okay," she breathed, avoiding looking at Elsa. "That was… you might be right about the over-identifying part. But maybe that's not all it is. I j-just don't know yet." Rubbing at her tired-looking face, she breathed, "What I do know is that you've been a better friend to me than anyone has for so many years, and I would count myself lucky if we were… well, y'know."

"But you're terrified of being with me in that way."

"Come over here and find out how terrified." The words were seemingly out before Anna could think rationally and stop them.

Elsa began to move. Anna's entire body tensed, but she didn't run, only slowly raised her dilated pupils to gaze into Elsa's. When they were toe-to-toe, one of Elsa's thin, pale hands pressed against the side of Anna's slender neck. She leaned into the touch even as her breath caught.

"Have you been drinking?"

"No, I haven't," Anna said flatly, irritated. "Are you serious with that?"

"Had to be sure, you understand. You're about to make a decision neither one of us can ever take back if you allow this to go any further."

Anna's throat worked to swallow her uncertainty. It didn't quite succeed. "If I allow it? What about you? This isn't a one-person decision."

"Because I don't trust myself to make the right one," the elder woman hissed bitterly. "Because last time I did in this situation, things didn't turn out well. Because I care too much about you to trust your fate in my bumbling hands."

Seconds slipped by in that manner, both of them trying to calculate what the other was thinking. Finally, the dam burst, and it was Anna's words that came pouring out.

"You're just so beautiful - way beautifuller than me - and every time I turn around, you're proving that you care so much more about people than everybody else in this God-forsaken business world, and especially that you care about me! And even with all the other stuff, you didn't have to take me to your favourite coffee house, or get drunk with me, or… and so what if you're a girl? I've never been with one before! My mom used to always say, 'How do you know you don't like something unless you try it first?' And she's right, I think - well, she probably wasn't talking about  _this,_ but then again she was always pretty open-minded, so if she was, I think that would pretty much be her attitude, and if that's good enough for-"

"Anna."

"Yes?" she gasped breathlessly.

"You talk too much." And before either of them could stop it, Elsa's mouth was on Anna's.

A handful of heartbeats later, they both individually broke the kiss at the same instance, but not before Elsa could note how soft and pillowy her friend's lips were, how heated and flawlessly formed. The sharp intake of breath the instant before the connection that came from Anna was thrilling and perfect. Not even a full second passed. If not for their previous conversation, it could have been considered friendly, even. But that ship had not only sailed, it had broken all contact with the port.

Elsa didn't want to see it. She wanted to hide from the disgust and alarm in Anna's eyes, the words that would inevitably follow telling her that she had crossed a line, broken a sacred trust. Forced the issue the way she promised she never, ever would.

Therefore, when Anna merely blushed and averted her eyes, tucking a crimson strand behind her ear, hope flared bright, like the last flare from a gun in a dark, dank cavern. Maybe she had a chance - even if not for what she wanted most, then perhaps to salvage their friendship. Nothing was irreparably damaged. Yet.

"Scale of one to ten?" Elsa quipped feebly. Which is why she seldom quipped at all.

"Huh?" Anna whispered. Then she looked up, startled to see she wasn't alone. "Oh! I- what? How was it, you mean? I…" She cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, and Elsa tried not to pay attention to how her denim-covered hips moved when that happened. "Definitely, um, above an eight? My brain's still kinda fried, so gimme a minute."

Elsa found herself grinning. Why? She was terrified. Any of the next few seconds could spell the end of the most valuable relationship in her miserably desolate life. But the part of her mind focused on how Anna had just called her a good kisser was too busy turning cartwheels to care.

"J-just so you know," Anna told her softly, turning slightly to lean back against the wall next to the pantry door, "I, um, I may have had a trans roomie but… I didn't go through that 'sorority les' phase or anything. You really are… the, um… my first girl-kiss."

"It's quite an honour."

Then, finally, Anna giggled. She giggled hard, recklessly, self-consciously but also freely. Her eyes weren't avoiding Elsa completely, but they kept flicking to her and flicking away again, like a reticent bee who's found his favourite blossom but fears insecticide. After a moment, they were both laughing, Elsa's more even and controlled than Anna's but no less self-conscious.

When the laughter died, they were simply staring at each other, gazes locked, four orbs connected by an invisible thread.

"Aren't you supposed to pin me to the wall now?" Anna prompted in a hushed tone.

"I could do that." Elsa took a step forward and saw Anna flinch. "Or not."

"Or not, huh?" she countered boldly, despite how hard she was shaking. "You backing down now?"

"Anna…"

"Do I have to do all the work? That hardly seems fair. You're the one with experience, and I'm the newbie. Step up."

"Anna, stop."

A shrug that was more of a shiver. "Stopping isn't what I had in mind, but hey."

A moment later, Elsa's arms were gently wrapping around Anna, chin in the crook of her neck. It took a tense twenty seconds for Anna to relax against the embrace, letting out a pair of mostly-dry sobs before her breathing evened out. Another minute or two passed as she simply soaked in the nearness of her flatmate, trying to let some of her anxiety go.

"God, don't hate me, okay?"

"Why should I?" Elsa asked, astonished at her friend's attitude.

"Because I… w-wanted to push myself to accept you this way, and I screwed it up. You'll never wanna sleep with me or anything now. And I still don't even know if it's what I want or not. How psycho can you get?"

"Straight girls," Elsa grunted with mock-exasperation. "Find out you're a lesbian and they automatically think you want to shag them."

"Wait, what? But you s-said- oh." Anna slapped Elsa's back lightly. "Don't be a jerk, I'm trying, here! And I thought you didn't like that label!"

"As I said, it does save explanations sometimes." When she drew back, she made sure to touch Anna on the sides of her head firmly, for the affection to be solid and not hesitant, devoid of those hints of possible desire. To conceal her wanting. "Are you alright? Truly?"

"Will be. Soon enough." Then her brow furrowed.  _Adorably_ , Elsa thought. "There's just this one other thing."

Elsa nodded encouragingly. "What's that?"

"Stop me if this is none of my business, but you said that last time, things didn't go so well. What do you mean by that? Last time you were… with someone?"

The fragile mood crashed to a jarring halt in an instant. The glow in Elsa's eyes died and the calm eroded to display the same itchy anxiousness she tended to display around Anna in their everyday interactions. Backing up a few steps, she turned to examine a container of steamed rice. "Possibly."

"What happened?"

"Everything went wrong."

Anna waited a very long time for Elsa to continue. Minutes went by, no sound but their strained breathing. After a while, Elsa began to peck at the food. Then Anna did. They ate it cold, side by side, in silence, tiny mouthfuls at a time. Once, Anna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

As they were putting the remaining portions away in the refrigerator, Elsa finally said, "We'll need to pick you out something suitable for the gala."

"The g- oh, yeah. Mondo party. All sorts of crazy bigwigs."

"Right. Care to go tomorrow evening? We'll put it on my account."

Anna bent to pick up the plastic fork and toss it in the recycler. "Sure. Gotta do it sooner or later."

"Yes." Looking around the kitchen and finding there was nothing more to do, Elsa dusted off her hands and said, "Well, then. See you after work."

"Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

Anna slowly slid her hands around Elsa's neck, but Elsa immediately took them away and forced them down in front of her. "No."

"But just-"

 _"No,_ Anna. Not merely because you're uncertain."

"Don't you even want this?" Anna urged. "I mean, I'm really pushing the envelope for me, and you're kind of stepping all over my mojo!"

"Miss Snowman." Elsa's eyes darkened slightly as she jerked Anna's arms out to either side, slapping their stomachs together as she leaned in until their noses made contact. Instantly, Anna was trembling. "You know full well that I want this by now, I should think. We are now simply waiting on you to think everything through. Really do it, not just go on gut instinct." Her voice dropped in register. "Because if you change our relationship, I will not hold back in the slightest. You will feel the full force of my need. I will burn you alive with it, I will freeze your heart solid. I will fray and flay your every last nerve. And then and only then, once you have withstood my intensity, will I take your body and make it my playground. That is what it means to be with Elsa Froiland. Choose wisely."

Anna's breaths were coming in heady pants. Her pulse was thundering in her throat - Elsa could  _see it_ \- and her cheeks were flushed, eyelids heavy. A pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. The measured words that had been both promise and warning had an effect she had not foreseen: Anna was turned on.

 _Oh no,_ Elsa thought in panic.  _I really went too far. She just licked her lips - nobody does that when they're this close to somebody unless they're about to- no, stop it! Back away. Just let go of her hands and back away. Now, Elsa. Do it now._

When Elsa let go of Anna's hands, they flew to her lapels, drawing the CEO in as if to kiss her. But she stopped. Their lips a hair's breadth apart, Anna turned her head aside slightly, gritting her teeth.

"Man," she breathed shakily. "Y-you're right, I need to think about it. I don't want to, though. I want you right now. It's the most insane thing I've ever heard myself say, but it's the truth. How did you do this to me, Elsa?"

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen to you, I swear! You were only-"

"No, stop. I… I didn't even mean that. All you did was love me, like a real friend does. And more than that, too. What kind of bitch would complain about that?"

"You don't care that I'm ruining it? Tainting our friendship?"

Biting her lip gently, the younger woman took a hesitant step back, running two fingers over Elsa's cheek as she had once before. "Don't be dumb. Our friendship is fine." Then she put her hands behind her back. "Just what we call it is kind of up in the air right now."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Sure I'm sure. Absitively, posolutely. Um… tomorrow, right?"

Elsa nodded. "Goodnight, Anna."

The redhead was halfway to the bathroom door in the hallway when she called over her shoulder, "What would it be like?"

"Sorry?"

"If we said goodnight… but were in the same bed."

It was sort of a rhetorical question, but Elsa didn't have an answer anyway. Instead, she merely shrugged and whispered, "Couldn't begin to fathom."

"Huh. Maybe I can out someday." And with that possibility-laden statement, Anna turned on the light and slipped in, closing the door behind her.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	8. Maximising Leverage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...in which pizza is consumed, a plan is hatched, shopping is done, the past is confronted... and Anna goes a step too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you all have every right to be angry with me. This took far longer than it ought. To be fair, I've had a very weird month-and-change… BUT that's none of your concern! Thanks for all the reviews and follows, I'm doing my best, but I don't want to simply sit down and belch up a "passable" chapter; I want to hold onto it until I'm sure it's what we all want! And I think this… comes… somewhat close to being just that, eh? EH?!
> 
> Also, thanks to Seriadne (she's on FFnet) for dumping tea on my head!
> 
> HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

"Hey, you got a call while you were out!"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa had to resist the temptation to crumple the banana muffin in her hand into a delicious-but-unappealing mess as she dropped back into her chair and scooted it up to her desk. "Who from, OLAF?"

"From… Yzma!" the computerised voice announced once its voice software had checked the spelling of the entry in her address book against its database of approved pronunciations. "Wanna hear the vidmail?"

"Yes, play vidmail."

"Righty-o!"

Mouthing "righty-o?" to herself in disbelief, she watched as the projection flickered to life and showed her the wizened-old woman she had grown so used to tolerating.

"Elsa, it's Yzma. Can you see me in this thing?" Her bony knuckles rapped against the lens of the camera, and Elsa flinched backward. "Right, well anyway, yes. Got some news for you on the front of your ill-fated contract negotiations. You  _know_ I don't come cheap. This is going to cost you a very pretty penny, but… I've got the team working on a happy little program that may just be able to tunnel through their firewalls and turn up what you need."

At that, the CEO's mood brightened considerably. She had all but given up on Yzma even returning her call on this topic by now. Her mouth opened to ask a question before she remembered that it was a recorded message.

"We're still a week or so out from finishing development, but trust me, cookie, your people will get their money's worth. The only real downside is that you'll only have a few days between its completion and when the intelligence agencies get wind of its specs and determine it's virtual poison or some other technically-illegal drivel. Luddites."

Grinning at the abrasive charm Yzma always displayed, she rested one elbow against the desk, propping her head up and gazing at her old mentor in awe. She really had learned from the best.

"Have your offshore accounts in order and I'll prepare your bundle of joy as fast as I can crack the whip over their heads downstairs. I'm not sure where Kuzco found these dimwits but they had better shape up, or they will find themselves in permanent  _outplacement_. Ta, ducky."

It was all Elsa could do to contain her excitement. This was fabulous! Perhaps it would have been better if this could have turned up a week or so ago, but so what? Better late than never! All of their luck had turned around in a heartbeat! She had to call-

Anna.

Instantly, her good cheer was tempered with melancholy. The young exec was in quite a lot of trouble of her own right now, overseeing a painful transition within her company and a potentially more distressing transition in her personal life. All Elsa wanted to do was gather her up in her arms and tell her everything was going to be alright, but that was a big part of the problem in the first place.

 _I can't believe I've done this to her,_ she berated herself as she chewed at the muffin, the flavour she normally quite enjoyed seeming dulled by her inner turmoil.  _Here I was so determined to be the shoulder she could cry on, a shelter in this storm, and instead I turned into the storm itself, crashing at her ship until it capsized. What a monster I turned out to be._

Elsa was still in the same position ten minutes later when Olaf piped up, "Call from… Anna!"

Scrambling to not look quite so bleak, she breathed, "Answer."

There she was, seated behind her desk. For the first half-second, she was still glancing down a datapad of some sort before she noticed the call had connected, at which point she set it down and beamed at Elsa. "Hey there, roomie!"

"Hello," she answered cautiously. This didn't bode particularly unwell. Yet. "How are things?"

"They're things," Anna giggled. Unbelievably, Elsa could just make out that she was biting her lip for a moment, but in the next she was saying, "Um, so I have a pretty light load here at the office today, what with Kai sorta taking up my slack with the books, so I was thinking I could catch the train and meet you when you get off, and we can head to wherever you're going to stuff me into some ballgown straight from there. Sound good?"

"W-well, yes," Elsa stuttered before mentally slapping herself across the face. "Lovely. Come around whenever you wish, I'll be here."

"Awesome! See you in a few!"

And then the call was over. Elsa didn't even get the chance to mention her call with Yzma and its promising news.

"Why am I so bloody useless?" she breathed as she slumped downward.

"Don't know that one, ma'am!" OLAF chirruped.

"Oh, get bent."

~ o ~

The hours flew by after that. Possibly because Elsa did not want them to fly by; the more time her mind could get used to the idea of Anna arriving, the better. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

"Hey!" Anna called as she flounced in, still waving to Karamelli over her shoulder. "You mind a pizza? I got one on my way over, figured we can gorge ourselves and then worry less about our stomachs while we shop."

"But then your dress will be tighter," Elsa reasoned as she eyed the greasy cardboard box suspiciously. "Shouldn't you get fitted for it  _before_ eating?"

The one-eyebrowed laugh she gave clearly conveyed her opinion of that, but she spoke anyway. "Are you kidding? I wanna be able to eat those hoity-toities out of of house and home while I'm at the party! Bring on the breathing room!"

Shaking her head and smiling against her will, Elsa moved aside the datapad and cup of cold coffee to give Anna room to set the box down, which she did a half-second following. Elsa was still staring at it in some trepidation when Anna had already bitten into a slice, and was just picking one up when Anna had finished.

"Have you like, never eaten pizza before?"

"Of course I have," Elsa sighed irritably. "Back at university. Once."

Anna laughed aloud at that admission. "Well, now's the time to try it again!"

"But… I don't eat pork products."

"It's turkey pepperoni," Anna reassured her. "Just eat, already!"

Making a face, Elsa sank her teeth into the cheesy, gooey mess sloshing around atop crusty bread. She chewed for a moment, then shrugged and set it back down in the box. "Passable."

" _Pashable?!"_ Anna burst out, her mouth full. A fleck of pizza sauce dripped onto the box lid. "I wend upthown for thish!" Swallowing with some difficulty, she waved her slice at Elsa. "Come on, you can't just stop there!"

"URGH!" Elsa burst out, picking up the piece and taking a bite twice as large as any she had ever taken of anything, save the bagel Anna had watched her inhale. As she chewed it slowly, not daring emulate Anna's uncouth behaviour, she slowly began to appreciate the subtle blending of flavours, the way it echoed less plebian italian cuisine. Still nothing she wanted to eat on a daily basis, but far better than she remembered.

"Aha!" Anna laughed, halfway through her second slice. "I see that, Elsa Froiland!"

Elsa blinked at her mildly as she swallowed. "See what?"

"You liking something! Don't try to fool me!"

"I do not." Rolling her eyes, she gusted. "Listen, enough about this damned pizza pie. I heard back from one of my contacts. We may have an  _in._ "

Anna's jaw paused halfway through its motions. The way her eyes watered as she swallowed that bite made it apparent that she had done so before it had been entirely chewed. "I… really? I mean, what does that mean for us now? I already signed over my company."

"We might be able to find evidence of double dealings, or other such skeletons in the Consortium's closets, and use that to undo all the damage done. One never knows. The point is, we can actually give it a real shot now instead of just wishing it could be so."

As Elsa kept eating, Anna stopped, too stunned to worry about turkey pepperoni at the moment. "So… um, all that stuff you said about waiting a year, hoping we can make a move to buy back my legacy, it wasn't just lip service? You really think it's possible?"

"Anna, I hope you know I wouldn't lie about business purely to make you feel better. If I promised you I'll do my level best to help you, I will."

"Of c-course." A tiny smile pulled at the corners of Anna's mouth as she looked away. "You really are the best ally I could have found."

 _Not really,_ Elsa thought to herself as she finished off her own slice.  _If I were, you could actually meet my eyes right now._

~ o ~

Wonderland Galleria was the largest and most varied collection of shops in Arendelle - and, in fact, the entirety of Corona County. Three floors and hundreds of storefronts. Legendary food court that catered to dozens of different tastes. And, best of all, a trio of corkscrewing slides that went from the top floor all the way to a ball pit at the bottom, which attracted perturbed parents from miles around at the hounding of their offspring.

Not that Elsa would ever consider using the slide herself. No matter how tempting.

It was also host to Felton's, a rather exclusive clothier that was almost entirely useless to anyone with less than a six-figure salary, and still only an occasional indulgence to those with less than seven. Needless to say, Elsa Froiland had an account there.

"Elsa,  _dahhhling!"_  cried out a voice that sounded like a broken glass smoothie must taste. It was issuing from the throat of a spindly woman in a flamboyant red suit with a face that looked as if it had undergone one too many surgical procedures to prevent it from looking old. Instead, it now looked alien and off-putting. Her jet-black hair played host to a shock of stark white that tore through the rest like a hurricane through a tar pit. "It's been absolutely  _ages!_ How did that fur I sent over work out for you?"

"Oh, fine," Elsa sighed, caught off guard by the announcement. "Ella, this is Anna Snowman, a new business acquaintance of mine. Anna, this-"

"Ella and Elsa," the woman laughed, throwing a bony arm around the CEO's shoulders. It was plain that Elsa was less than comfortable with being manhandled but took it in stride, the look of a sailor weathering a storm in place. "Quite a pair in the social circuit a couple of years ago. Before… well, to everything there is a season, as the old song goes, eh?"

"Yeah," Anna giggled good-naturedly. "Wow, am I not dressed for this place!"

"Nonsense," Ella reassured her, though she did not bother to give Anna's wardrobe more than a cursory glance. "By the time you leave, the rest of this abysmal shopping centre will not be good enough to have  _you_ in it, little sparrow.  _Horace! Jasper!"_

Two men in somewhat bland suits hurried from a nearby trio of mannequins they were rearranging slightly and disappeared behind a counter. When they emerged a few moments later, the taller one was carrying two champagne flutes and the other a tray laden with cheese and crackers. Wasting no time, Ella picked up a flute and pressed it into Elsa's hand.

"You really must try on this orange number we just got in - an Aurora original. You'll die when you see it, just die!"

"Aurora?" Anna asked as the tall man tried to get her to take the other glass of bubbly. "I didn't know she made clothes, too."

Ella's voice dropped conspiratorially. "The whole line is being ghost-designed by one of Ralph Lauren's grandchildren, but you didn't hear that from me." Then she clapped her hands loudly, which made Anna jump because she had been leaning in to better hear the rumour. "Right, then! What are the we in the market for this fine evening? Something sporty, elegant, shocking? Ooh - there's an off-the-shoulder two-piece ensemble, shocking pink with black and green highlights… would make waves no matter  _where_ you unleash it upon the populace. Care to see it?"

"Less shocking and more comely," Elsa half-laughed. "We're here for Anna; I have a dress picked out. The violet one by Dearly Designs?"

At that, Ella's smile slipped a notch. "Ah, yes. Dearly."

"What?" Anna asked when nothing more was said for a few moments. "What about Dearly? I hear her dresses are perfect. Not that I'd ever get close enough to even see one," she added quietly.

"She and Ella had a falling out several years back," Elsa provided with a slight smirk as she sipped at the champagne.

"Nothing so impressive," Ella grumbled, mostly selling an air of indifference despite the muscle ticking in her jaw. "She called my alterations 'a crime against fashion'. There are only two ways a person can take that sort of unconstructive criticism: bad, and worse! I was an innocent victim of character assassination!"

"You threw pâté at her."

Blustering for a moment, Ella snatched the untouched drink intended for Anna and downed it in a single gulp. "Well?" she snapped at the startled man. "More champagne for our guests, Jasper!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" he hissed as he took her flute and sped away.

"Now, then," she sighed as she turned back to them, withdrawing an electronic cigarette on a long stem from somewhere in her cleavage and drawing a puff of mentholated water vapour in with great relish. As it billowed from her mouth, she continued, "Miss Annie here needs a little something, eh? What's the occasion?"

"North Mountain's yearly travesty," Elsa said with a sigh.

At those words, Ella's smile turned catlike. "Always did love how you hated it so much, even though it's  _your_ company and the ball was  _your_ idea. Hoisted on your own petard, dahling?"

"We do it for charity, and for the morale of my employees. You know this."

"I do, of course." Still chuckling to herself, she turned to look Anna over. The simple teal blouse and grey slacks were as unimpressive as her black ballet flats, and one of Anna's hands went self-consciously to her braids, stroking them as if wishing she could instantly undo them and fashion her hair into something a bit more impressive. "Hmm."

"Why do I get the feeling I should have dressed up to get dressed up?" the young exec mumbled.

"It's fine, dear. I've just the thing; it'll really knock their socks off! Step this way..."

A few minutes of waiting around outside the dressing room door and Elsa was graced with the blush-inducing sight of Anna in a gaudy backless gown with an odd cut in the front that showed the top of one breast, the underside of the other, and a zig-zag down her stomach that gave glimpses of flesh so varied that Elsa stopped trying to figure out where to look.

"What the hell am I supposed to be?" Anna was snickering as she turned, gazing at her reflection in a trio of mirrors.

"Search me," Elsa replied, stifling a giggle. "A beautiful girl in a dress that got attacked by a lawnmower?"

Suddenly, Anna was gaping at her, eyes wide and stunned. "What did you call me?"

"Nope!" Ella announced, spoiling the moment before it had a chance to take root. It was just as well, since Elsa hadn't the faintest idea how she would have responded. "It's delightful, but won't suit the occasion at all! No, no, let's try another!"

Back into the dressing room. Elsa helped herself to a cheese-laden cracker while she waited, chewing at the corner of it as another couple flounced into Felton's, giggling and carrying on. The tallish man had artfully mussed ginger hair and was wearing a fashionable shirt with chaser lights on the sleeves that he was at least five years too old to pull off, youthful though his face was. The woman he had in tow sported long, flowing raven hair and her olive skin complemented the paleness of his as she hung on his arm, almond-shaped eyes contented and possessive at the same time. Her wardrobe was similarly trendy to his, but in her case, it suited her age. There was a distinct gap there.

"Miss Nejem!" Ella crowed as she left her assistants to tend Anna, kissing the young thing on either cheek. "Didn't expect to see you again, and so soon! Problem with the mink micro-mini?"

"Of course not!" Her laugh was so deep and sultry it belied her age by more than a decade, rivaling the vocal register of the old fashionista she was exchanging pleasantries with. "Gorgeous, as ever! But there's a dance I must attend in a few weeks. Something to knock the wind out of every girl there would be…  _much_ appreciated."

"Naturally, naturally." Her eyes wandered up to the man standing politely and waiting to be introduced. "And who might we have here?"

"Pleasure to meet you," he said with grace, taking Ella's hand and kissing the back of it as he bowed. The older woman pursed her lips slightly as she smiled, as if undecided whether or not she appreciated his manners or thought them cheeky. "I'm-"

_"HANS?!"_

The shout brought everyone and everything in the vicinity to a crashing halt, all eyes going to where Anna stood just a few steps from the door of her dressing room. Elsa was momentarily distracted by the rich velvety purple of her dress, plus the thinned sections of lace and sheer, translucent fabric that curled their way up her torso like a thousand snakes undulating. Somehow, the modest glimpse of cleavage it allowed was provocative without straying into tastelessness. Mismatched sections of dress trailed an inch above the floor, closer due to her flats than they would be with the heels they would no doubt be acquiring to complete the ensemble.

Because this  _had_ to be the dress she was wearing. It had to be the dress she wore for the rest of her life, whenever possible. Elsa couldn't even speak, or think, or breathe. The blinking of her eyes seemed to take eons.

"What are you doing  _here?"_  the man grunted in shock, coaxing Elsa back to reality.

"Me?" Anna's mouth merely hung open for a few more seconds before she spluttered, "I'm getting fitted for a dress, I… what are  _you_ doing here, and who the hell is  _that?!"_

An affronted look crossed the young lady's face, but Ella hastened to intervene. "I gather the two of you know each other?"

"Come on, Anna," the man sighed exasperatedly. "Don't make another scene."

At those words, Anna's face went red with mingling embarrassment and fury, and her hackles raised, fists at her sides. Even like that, she was a vision. "Your great-aunt's retirement party was  _not_ my fault and we both know that, Hans! Can't you ever leave anything alone?"

"Who's the shrew?" the caramel-skinned girl asked him in a stage whisper.

"Hans," Elsa breathed at last when the name connected itself with the way they were regarding each other. "The ex-husband."

"Ex- _husband?!"_ she exclaimed, stepping back from him slightly. "You've been married? When were you going to let me know  _that_ little detail?"

Immediately, his hands reached out to clasp one of hers between them. "Baby, come on, who cares about that? Anna and I are ancient history. We have the paperwork to prove it."

"And I have the pitiful bank statement to prove it, too!" Anna growled. Then she turned on the new woman in his life and began again, forcing a smile into place. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"J-Jasmine," she stuttered, confused by her sudden change in attitude.

One of Anna's eyebrows went up slightly in wan disbelief. "Really?" But then she took a deep breath. "Okay, Jasmine, listen good. He's going to rob you blind. Whatever he's promised, however thick he lays on the compliments, you are going to end up in a cardboard box down some smelly alleyway if you don't watch your back. Trust me."

"That is enough," Hans sighed. "Just because you ran your family business into the ground doesn't make it my responsibility to-"

"What are you even  _doing_ here with this, this… toddler?!"

Jasmine's eyes flashed dangerously, and Elsa felt her instincts prickle. She might need to step in. "We'll be attending a dance. I need a dress. This is a place in which people buy dresses, isn't it?"

Anna sneered. "A dress to what? Homecoming?"

"Senior prom, for your information!"

At that, Elsa felt her own eyebrows flying up. "You really  _are_ in secondary school?" Then she looked between both Jasmine and Hans several times before settling her gaze on the man who looked as if he'd rather be crawling into one of the empty champagne flutes. "Isn't he a bit-"

"Who asked you, random old woman?" she scoffed, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. "We met at the gym. He bought me a smoothie, we talked… I'm his jewel of the Nile."

"And I'm her Danish Prince," Hans cooed, caressing her cheek and smiling down at the girl. Elsa thought he looked like a snake, but she had to admit the adoration in Jasmine's eyes seemed beyond genuine. All the worse for her when he crushed her under his heel.

"Something's rotten in Denmark, alright," Anna muttered.

His eyes slamming shut for a long moment, Hans dropped his hand as he sighed, "Anna, you know I hate that one."

"Give me back that disgusting divorce settlement and I'll never use it again!"

"Enough, you annoying bitch! God, I can't believe I ever saw anything in you, all you do is nag, nag, nag! What do I have to do to get you out of my life for good? Is it the money? Fine! I'm worth plenty more now than I was back then, so you can have it!"

"Ought to get that in print," Elsa muttered.

Finally turning to regard her properly, Hans snapped, "And who are you, anyway? Isn't there an episode of Supernanny somewhere with your name on it?"

Instantly, Elsa felt her entire attitude toward the situation shift. Before she had mostly felt uncomfortable but resigned to watching the events play out, an unwilling spectator - and possible eyewitness, should things take a violent turn. This was the second time the couple had slighted her for bothering to open her mouth, however, and it was time she put a stop to that. "Passive racism. Brilliant. Thank you  _ever_ so much - and I'm not even English, so you can have done with that right here and now."

"You sound English," he sneered as he turned back to Anna. "What's with the crumpet? Did you finally get so spazzy that your board of directors insisted you have a nurse follow you around? Knew it would happen one of these days…"

"Ugh!" Anna growled, clutching at her head as if to ensure it didn't start pulsating at his needling. "For your information, Elsa is a really g-"

She stopped there. It was clear that she had been about to say "really good friend" or something to that effect. At least, to Elsa it was. But a look stole over her. She glanced first at Elsa, then briefly at Jasmine and Ella, the latter of which had been merely hanging back and trying to decide whether to call mall security. But when her eyes went back to Hans again, the decision to act was plain as day.

Maybe if she had known what that decision would entail, Elsa would have moved to intercept or deter. As it happened, she had no chance.

"Elsa," Anna began again as her hand snaked out and caught up the named woman's, lacing their fingers together, "is my new lover!"

_\- To Be Continued -_


	9. Conglomeration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got this one done a lot faster than the last one! Honestly, I had a tiny bit of it written, and the other night I just sat down and blasted my way through the rest all in one go.
> 
> For those of you not following along with the rest of my work and are only here for the business-casual sex (see what I did there?), I have a new smutfic called "My Sister's Mistress" that I've been co-writing with Cartesian Planeswalker for over a month now. It's finally complete and we're in the editing stage. Hopefully, this will NOT detract from my writing Freeze Out the way it did for that three-week period between updates anymore, especially now that the actual writing part is through! Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time.
> 
> Quickly, though: for the moment under the tree, I was listening to "Primavera in Anticipo" by Laura Pausini and James Blunt while writing. Over and over. There's a Spanish version as well called "Primavera Anticipada" if tu entiendes Español.

"Joy."

It was Ella who first found her voice, the stem of her electronic cigarette darting through her white locks absentmindedly as she tried to pay attention to anything except the four individuals causing such an upset in her boutique. She made no other move to halt or derail the confrontation, did not insert herself in the middle or otherwise participate. Just a single sarcastic word to voice her displeasure at the turn of events.

"Your… wait." Hans looked between the two of them, then down at their hands, before his too-clear eyes lifted back to stare at his ex-spouse. "Anna, you can't even be serious."

"Oh, why can't I?" the named girl snapped, managing to stand even straighter. "If you can run out and start prowling the local high schools for a new date, why should I sit around alone every night?"

Jasmine looked mildly ill, but Hans was inches from laughing, as his grin of disbelief and delight attested. "Oh, oh this is rich! You're going all Ellen just because I couldn't stand you anymore? How long before you give up on this little phase like you gave up on pottery, or scrapbooking, or… what was that other thing? Kayaking?"

"I never did kayaking!" Anna's cheeks reddened, and she leaned forward slightly as she screamed, "And you know what?! Maybe if you had actually  _done_ any of those things with me-"

"What? We might have made it work if I made some clay ashtrays with you? Fat chance. And I offered to let you come paintballing with me and the boys, but you always-"

"Imagine, I didn't want my recreational activities to involve getting  _shot at!_ How can you be so dense all the time like this, were you dropped on your head a lot as a baby?"

"Wait," Jasmine interrupted before Hans could rise to Anna's insult. "Are you for real? You and… this blond woman… are you really together?"

Shrugging, Anna redoubled her grip on Elsa's fingers, who merely stood there as if she wished to be elsewhere, lips drawn into a smile that was more grimace than grin. "Would that be such a crime? As you probably recall, marriage between all genders has been legal for decades! Are you really still stuck in the dark ages, you can't-"

"N-no, but just… I don't really get that  _vibe_ from you." When Hans grunted, she frowned slightly at him without really taking her large, dark eyes off Anna. "Hey, I'm serious, you still seem pretty, y'know, straight to me. So how…?"

"Sometimes you just can't fight it." Her grin was probably supposed to reassure Elsa, but it only made the sweat breaking out all over her forehead redouble its efforts to make the normally-poised CEO look like a tween on her first date at the movies.

"Puh- _lease,_ " Hans scoffed. "Don't tell me you're actually buying this crap!"

Suddenly inspired, Anna let go of Elsa's hand - which very clearly relieved the elder exec - only to drape it around her shoulders a moment later, her head falling to rest against her own upper arm. That was certainly not much of an improvement. "What's the matter, my ex-honey-poo? Does the thought of me preferring women now upset you? Does it maybe have you rethinking your own masculinity? I mean, if  _she's_ what I'm really after… what does that say about Hans The Mighty?"

Jasmine spun on her heels to glare at him. "Y-you asked me to call you that when we… damn it, isn't  _anything_ purely ours? Or is it all part of what you sell every girl who's stupid enough to buy the whole package?"

Only now did he fully address the situation that was rapidly developing while he was too focused on his former wife to notice. "I… no, Jasmine, come on, she's just bitter and trying to mess up what we have together! You gotta believe me!"

"Did he make you wear the Princess Leia costume yet?" Anna provoked.

"What? No, what on earth are you…" But Jasmine's words died as she remembered something. "We've been watching the original sextilogy, though. All this week. And you said my hair would look good like hers…"

"It will, I meant that! Way better than Anna's did!" Too late did he realise precisely how he misspoke. "I m-mean, would! Not that she ever-"

"Of course I did, Jazz. Dozens of times. He never seemed to appreciate how much effort it takes to put them in buns like that, but hey - I was in love. With my husband. Don't forget about the 'husband' part, that's important."

Hans was back to glaring daggers at Anna, but the look on her face was so coldly triumphant that no one dared try to break her further. Jasmine, seeing how they only had eyes for one another, stood back in stunned silence for a long moment, forgotten and confused.

"Excuse me a moment." Following that, Elsa slipped herself from under Anna's arm and took Jasmine by the crook of the elbow. "Come on."

"Get your paws off me, you old dyke!" she snapped, but Elsa didn't let go and the spoiled brat only tried to pull away once with all the effort of a sleeping kitten before she wilted and allowed herself to be dragged over to where Ella was politely studying her nails.

"Set her up with something in blue," Elsa told the fashionista in a low tone. "Ask the girls back there to take their time with the fitting. Do you still stock that sparkling apple juice?"

Ella nodded as her hands lay gently on the girl's shoulders, subdued but still outwardly projecting her typical air of sophistication and haughtiness. "Our Jasmine will be well taken care of, as per usual. You needn't worry. Let's get you outfitted for Prom, love!"

As she was led off, Jasmine didn't even look up. No doubt later she would remember Elsa's kind act and either appreciate it, or despise her for meddling. Either way, it was none of her business now.

Rejoining Anna and Hans was like returning to a bloody battlefield. It certainly held the same level of appeal. Terse words had probably been exchanged in her absence, but there was no way to know what they had been. Elsa took Jasper aside and whispered to him a few clipped but pointed instructions, and he took Anna back to the dressing room, despite her very clear reluctance to be removed from the confrontation.

"Well," Hans grunted once she was gone.

"Well."

Neither of them spoke again for nearly a full minute, staring straight ahead and standing uncomfortably shoulder-to-shoulder as they both kept their eyes on the changing rooms, holding three purses between the two of them. Then Hans asked, voice still more growl than anything, "How did you two meet?"

"Lesbians don't  _meet;_  they spring up when the seeds are watered."

"Excuse me for asking."

Relenting slightly, she said, "Business thing, very boring."

"Are you really living together? Already?"

"Yes," she sighed, now being able to guess at what had been said while she got Jasmine distracted from the ugliness of the situation between exes. "For a couple of weeks. Not altogether long, but we're… adjusting."

"Does she still hog the covers?"

"Oh, we're not doing  _this_ bit," Elsa told himfirmly. "If you want all the sordid details, ask your former wife. I'm a private person by nature, Mr. Mighty."

At the use of the nickname, he let out a sharp blast of laughter. "She knows that's private, too, and yet she blabbed it all over Fenton's."

"She did. I did not. I said it to you, privately, once. There is a world of difference."

Blessedly, at that moment Anna burst from within the dressing room with her fingers still busy fastening the buttons of her blouse and strode purposefully over to Elsa, locking their hands together as she led them from the clothier's. Not so much as a backward glance was spared for her ex-husband. Elsa nodded politely to him, and he returned the gesture, and then they were far and away from the scene of the crime.

"God, the nerve of that jackass," Anna began venting the moment they came to the bottom of the escalator. "Comes in there, takes what should have been a nice afternoon for me - for us - and j-just starts taking a giant dump all over-"

"Anna, what in the name of sanity was that about?"

"What do you mean?" Elsa had to forcibly jerk her flatmate to a halt in order to get her attention, nearly sending them both into a potted plant. It succeeded in drawing focus. "HEY!"

"That bomb you just dropped on both Hans  _and_ myself in Ella's shop. Explain yourself."

Anna looked taken aback for a moment before she smiled slightly. "Oh, that? Come on, you know that was just to get under Hans's skin. Coming in there with that, that jailbait Jasmine, flaunting his supposed youth and belittling me, it… ugh, I had to do something, take him down a peg!"

"You had to do that, did you?"

"Well, yeah. And it worked; his ego folded like a house of cards!"

"And what about my ego, Anna? My feelings?"

At long last, it seemed the redhead was catching up. Taking in the flatness of Elsa's eyes and the thinness of her mouth probably helped drive the point home. Her mouth worked slowly as she tried to figure out how to proceed. "I… are you upset about this? Come on, you know I didn't-"

"Didn't what? Think? Stop to consider what you were saying? Oh, that much is clear. You used me just now, Anna. Used me as a  _tool_ to get back at your ex. Used not only my feelings, but my sexuality, which you  _know_ is a sensitive topic for me. Why don't we pause and see if we can infer how that might make one feel? Take your time, no rush."

"Oh, I… oh." All the hot air and righteous fury seemed to leak out of Anna at once, and she was left looking small and morose in the middle of the mall. "But that wasn't what I-"

"No, it wasn't."

"And I still-"

"You did."

Both of her eyes were wide as dinner plates as she pulled out of Elsa's grasp to throw her hands in front of her mouth. "Shit, I didn't- you weren't supposed to- I j-just thought, since we're friends that you would go along w-with…"

"You made an assumption. It wasn't entirely wrong; I did want to help you out. But you didn't even ask. Just sacrificed me as a pawn in your battle."

"No! Come on, that's not how it was, I- you were helping me, please don't feel that way!"

"Come on, Anna. How would you honestly feel in my place?"

For a moment, it looked as if Anna might try to argue her case. She thought about it; her expression made that clear. Then she lowered her eyes in defeat, as Elsa thought she might.

What Elsa could not have predicted was for her to turn toward the nearest elevator and press the "up" button.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting out of your hair," Anna grunted as the doors dinged open.

Elsa only had a few seconds to decide. Biting her lip, she dove through the doors a second before they slid shut, finding they were the only ones inside.

"How are you 'getting out of my hair' by going up to the third floor?" Elsa's heart skipped over a beat as an ugly thought assailed her. "You're not… doing anything rash, are you?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'rash'."

Anna sounded heartbroken. Not distressed, not angry, not jealous, not bitter. Just sad. She was leaning back against the glass wall of the elevator, staring down at a fray in the knee of her slacks with her arms crossed over her chest, a wavy red strand of hair drifting back and forth in front of her nose as the car shook slightly when it reached the top. Then she pushed from the wall and reached the doors at the very instant they swished open, leaving Elsa to dash after her.

 _Why am I even chasing that little dolt?_  the CEO inwardly complained as they stalked through the shopping throng.  _She abused our friendship, and I'm running after her like I stepped on her pet hamster. This is so unbelievably backward! But then again, everything I do is normally backward. Anybody with a modicum of sense can see Anna's the more normal, well-adjusted of the two of us. Me, on the other hand… I'm hopeless. Look at me now, as we go to the-_

Elsa stopped, blinking. They were at the top of the slides.

"What are you doing?" Elsa reiterated. "Going on a kiddie ride, at your age?"

"I'm not  _that_ old," Anna sighed as she took her place in line between two other tots. "And it says right there anybody can ride, regardless of if they're 'ancient' like me, thanks."

It only took Elsa a moment to read down the sign posted in the center of the three slide entrances. "It also says they have cameras trained on the ride, to discourage _suspicious persons._  What do you think we count as?!"

"Hey! I might be a crappy friend, but I'm not suspicious! Wow, give me a  _little_ credit!"

"I never said you were a 'crappy friend', only that-"

"Save it. You don't have to coddle me. Just… I wanna do something to get out of my head for a minute. And this is what I'm going to do."

At that, Elsa almost laughed aloud while they moved up to the front of the line. "This is your idea of living life on the edge, cutting loose? Maybe this makes you a very rebellious two-year-old, but for women of our age…"

"Forget it. Just… go home, Elsa. I'll get a cab, and then I'll come clean out my room from your apartment. Don't even worry about it."

"Then you'll  _what?!"_

But there was no time to get an answer. Anna was sprinting for the nearest tube, the mall employee leaping out of the way as she dove into the tube, legs disappearing as she descended.

Desperately, Elsa glanced back and forth. She'd had no intention of going down any slide - ever in her entire life, let alone this day. But Anna was rapidly receding further and further out of her reach. In her heart, she knew if she let things cool down until they talked again at her flat, the fractures in their relationship might not mend properly. That was the last thing she wanted.

This was why, when the attendant raised an eyebrow at her as if asking if she would be joining her insane companion, she shrugged and stepped up to him.

"How do you think insurance might cover it if I sustain an injury this way?"

"Lady, I just work here," the gangly boy answered.

"Figures." With no further dallying, she plopped herself down just inside the opening and, taking hold of the lip, shoved herself into uncertainty.

Her stomach lingered somewhere near the top as Elsa rocketed down a child's plaything that was likely comprised of plastics and fibreglass with a few metal struts for support. It was old enough that it could have been assembled before metastic had been invented. Every curve and bump seemingly doubled her heart rate, set her pulse throbbing at her temples. Her smart business skirt was getting bunched up around her hips as she flew down into the depths of the mall. Was this that elusive animal known as "fun"? Was she having fun?

No, that wasn't quite right. But she felt distinctly alive. That bit was undeniable.

And then she was swimming amid brightly-coloured plastic spheres of every hue in the spectrum, tumbling end-over-end, feeling a tiny elbow connect painfully with her shoulder as a boy dove past her. Up was down and down was to the left somewhere, and then a hand was jerking her upright, the balls only rising up to mid-thigh now that she had been righted.

"I… wow, I can't believe you actually-"

"What were you thinking of?! We could have been-"

"-would do something like that for somebody as airheaded as me, not after-"

"-most insane, puerile shenanigan I've ever been party to in all my-"

"Elsa," Anna giggled, staring at her. "You, um… your hair, it's kind of…"

The look Elsa was getting from her red-cheeked friend offended her at first, especially at the interruption of her tirade, but then she gave up worrying about it and concentrated on her own hair. The meticulous blond bun had been knocked in just the wrong way that it was hanging directly in front of her face, almost completely blocking off light from one eye. She tried to flip it back, remove it from her worry, but nothing could be done; it went right back into her field of vision.

"Here!" Anna laughed before Elsa could get too irate, reaching up to completely undo the bun, letting Elsa's hair sheet down her back as she quickly finger-combed it to fall that way. "There, isn't that… better?"

Something about Anna's expression stirred a rabble of butterflies in her stomach. Flushed and panting, sparkling blue-green eyes full of wonder and familiarity that belied their brief association. In those orbs she caught sight of her own hair, looking wild and free for the first time in ages outside of her own apartment, and felt her own cheeks filling with rouge. That wasn't the expression of a good friend who shared a fleeting moment of fun with another friend.

"Better," Elsa breathed.

"Move, old lady!"

The angry six-year-old in green overalls that shoved Anna could never know how much she influenced two lives with her impatience. The younger woman's balance wasn't steady enough to keep her upright, and she fell forward, plunging them into the rainbow bubbles again, jostling and tumbling until they were beneath the translucent leaf of an inflatable palm tree, shaded from the cheery lighting by a slight shading of green.

"Guess we better get outta here," Anna half-laughed, half-whispered.

"Right," Elsa grunted as she tried to rise with Anna still atop her. No such luck. Pursing her lips, she complained, "Anna…"

"Yes?"

The "yes" was so full of uncertainty, of longing and fear that Elsa's entire train of thought jumped the track and plunged into a ravine. Elsa could barely even see her flatmate's face, shaded the way it was by their positions. Slowly, she felt herself sinking down into the plastic balls, but Anna was sinking with her. A few moments later, all she could see was glowing orbs of red and blue and orange and green, and in the center of this bubblegum sky was Miss Snowman's freckled face, blinking down at her and waiting for something to happen.

Elsa stayed silent. Her voice had been stolen away.

"I'm sorry," Anna whispered after another moment, voice muffled by the plastic surrounding Elsa's ears. "What I did up there… it was dumb. I'm so dumb, I keep messing everything up, I… but you probably already figured that out about me, huh? Anna The Dunce."

"You haven't messed anything up. But you shouldn't talk about my feelings for you like that, so frivolously. Waving them about under your ex's nose to upset him and his new strumpet."

"Your… feelings, huh?" Anna blinked once, very slowly. "What feelings are those, again?"

Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Nearby, a few children moved around, made noise, had fun that Elsa did not consider fun. Anna's body was pressing down against hers more and more, and she felt her chest hammering so hard that it might combust.

"You know," she said simply, fright plaguing her even with that small non-admission. Anna waited for more, but never got it. So she went on.

"What if, up there… I wasn't  _just_ using you to get back at Hans? What if everything I said was nothing but the truth?"

The corner of Elsa's mouth turned up. "But you said we were lovers. We haven't…"

"Not yet." At that, Elsa's smile disappeared, and Anna's face turned deadly serious, as well. "We have time, don't we? To get there? Maybe I jumped the gun with that label, but… you and I, we're kind of already..."

"What are you saying to me, Anna?" It was a hard-edged question, relentless. It was all she had that she could do or say.

"I…" Seconds ticked by with Anna writhing on top of her, the nearness bumping Elsa's pulse up far more than the simple trip down the slide had done. "I don't even know what I'm saying, but I think it's something about wanting to see… how… this feels again."

Lips closed the distance, inch by inch, until Anna was breathing directly into Elsa's half-open mouth, and Elsa felt an icy tingle run down either side of her ribcage, her throat running dry. This couldn't be happening again. Not with Anna at the reins this time, and certainly not where they were! She wanted to reach up and push Anna away, demand she stop and think - or shout at her again for the mistake at Fenton's, use it as an excuse to avoid the subject at hand.

No luck. Her heart won out, her true and ardent desire. Instead, all she could whisper with a voice full of uncertainty and resolutely-buried pain was, "Are you sure you want  _me?"_

There was no answer. Not one made of words.

Paradise existed in an artificial sea beneath an artificial palm frond when Anna kissed Elsa for the first time that evening that might as well have been any other evening on the calendar, the elder woman's pale gold hair fanning out and trapped beneath her as she returned the contact with every molecule of herself, every ounce of will and affection. It legitimately shocked her how much affection had built in such a short time for the headstrong little ginger, but it was all bursting forth now, rushing over the dam she had so carefully constructed in her heart to prevent anything like this from happening again. Anna had a way of ensuring that none of those safety measures made the slightest bit of difference, smashing through, snaking around, circumventing.

How could Anna be this impossibly soft, her entire being and aura so inviting? How could she feel like a glove that had been tailored for Elsa to fill completely? Born in drastically separate countries, raised in households that could not have been more dissimilar… there was no logical, reasonable explanation for them to fit together like this. Like water droplets sliding to form one glistening bead, catching the light of the sun and glinting like a newly-cut sapphire.

The younger lips parted and drifted down, puckering lightly around the bottom half of the other set, driving its owner to moan wantonly, hating herself for loving it to such degree that she could not control her reaction to any degree. So easily did Anna unmake Elsa. This was dangerous, a thing that she should put an end to as soon as possible.

Maybe in five more minutes.

Elsa barely remembered the stocky woman pulling Anna up and to her feet, inquiring if she was alright. When she repeated the action with Elsa, it left a slightly clearer memory. Burning crimson and mildly chagrined, the two businesswomen climbed from the pit and checked to make sure they still had all their valuables. Shame-facedly, Elsa handed one heel to Anna as she waded back in to find its mate - a search that took probably three times as long as the moment that had changed her life more than she dared think it could have.

Twice. That made twice they had lost control over their urges, their need to taste the other person's lips. One instance for which each of them could shoulder the blame. It was no longer just Elsa projecting her perversion of their friendship into reality. Anna reciprocated. How much was still up in the air, but clearly it was more than just "over-identifying". This was real, and it terrified Elsa so much more knowing it was.

Neither woman spoke or looked directly at the other one's eyes all the way back to the car. Once inside it, Elsa turned and smiled weakly, shaking like a leaf, but Anna did not turn. However, her teeth tightened on her bottom lip when she felt a gaze upon her. It was enough. Elsa knew she was just as scared of the repercussions as she was, just as filled with hope and excitement.

The drive back to the apartment was just as silent, with one marked change. When they both reached to turn on the radio at the same time to eliminate the tense silence, Anna caught hold of Elsa's hand before she could draw it away. They both stared at their hands as long as they could before Elsa had to turn her attention back to the road… and still Anna did not let go. Their hands lingered over the centre console, gripping steadily tighter as they rode into the deepening night, slightly clammy from all the nervous sweating their palms had done. It was comfortable and uncomfortable, reassuring and infuriating. It was perfect.

Elsa reclaimed her hand to get her ID when they reached the underground car park, and they stayed apart until they were riding the elevator up. Anna sidled closer and closer until she was pressed right up against Elsa, but before anything more could develop the doors reopened and four people got on, one of them carrying a towering stack of datapads. The two of them were largely ignored. Elsa suspected her hair's state of disarray helped disguise her identity as the one most instrumental in bringing about their current place of work. So much the better.

Finally, they were all but skipping down the hall to Elsa's door, tumbling inside. Neither of them knew what to do next. Elsa felt a mad desire to push Anna down on the floor, or up against the couch, or anywhere. Instead, all she did was bump the door closed and lock it, then slip off her shoes and drop her purse onto one of the barstools.

"Time to think," Anna blurted.

"Eh? Wh-what?"

"I need…. yeah." Turning quickly away, her shoulders hunched as she breathed, "That was… magical, but I was kind of freaking. I'm sure you could tell."

"Stands out a bit in one's mind, yes."

"So, um, time to think is good. Right? Shouldn't I be thinking?"

It was with a heavy heart that Elsa forced herself to say, "Yes. You should be. Very hard, and please do, because… I thought it was magical, as well."

Whipping around, Anna took a few steps forward until she had Elsa pinned against the inside of their front door, eyes boring into hers. "Are you just saying that? I mean, I've only ever had the one big relationship with Hans, and I n-never- with a woman, it's- I kind of have to trust you a lot. Are you just saying it was magical to make me feel better, or d-did you really feel what I felt at the bottom of the slide?"

Despite how much she wished she could brush aside the question, too much had happened. "Please, Anna, I have no idea what you felt. But what I felt was very strong, much stronger even than the first time I… it… do you have to ask me this late? Our entire shopping trip has left me so exhausted, and with this on top of it…"

Looking small and wrung-out again, Anna nodded and began to retreat to her door before she stopped herself, expression anxious yet eager. "Can I… is there any way we could do it one more time before I leave you alone? Y'know, we were kind of in a weird situation before, so it might-"

"No!" Elsa yelped reflexively before catching herself with a sigh. "I m-mean, not today. Too soon. Off to bed with me."

"But it's not late enough for-"

 _"Bed._ We'll both be better people in the morning, sharper. I'm so tired…"

Without wasting any more time, Anna darted in, squeezed Elsa's forearm tightly, and whispered, "Just in case one of us wakes up in a freak-out, I… you've been a really good friend to me, Elsa, and I'm never gonna forget that. We're  _amigas_ for life, okay?"

It was such a smarmy statement that Elsa grinned in spite of herself. "Amigas, eh? You sure you don't want to kip in my room tonight with me? Things might… develop."

"No, no," Anna laughed lightly, an undercurrent of regret tinting the airiness. "We'll be fine apart, you and me. For the night, anyway." Tucking a strand of red behind her ear, she turned to flounce of toward her bedroom door before turning. "Breakfast, my sweet?"

Elsa felt her pale cheeks flushing yet again as she whispered, "I, um… oh, why not?"

"Awesome. Good night." Grinning hugely, Anna then bounced away.

 _Breakfast with my 'new lover',_ Elsa thought with a laugh.  _Certifiably crazy life, I've got._

As she undressed for bed, however, she didn't feel crazy. She felt full of unbridled glee, saturated with a level of happiness she hadn't even dared thought was possible a month previous.

Elsa Froiland felt as if, maybe, possibly, she was in love.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	10. Merging Assets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS NSFW. It doesn't really stray too far into "M" territory, but it pushes the boundaries between T and M, so I feel like it deserves this warning. If you need to skip this chapter due to that, you can probably guess a lot of what happens but PM me and I'll give you the run down on the plot if you must know!
> 
> Also, to address a couple of the reviews, Elsa keeps getting called "old woman" because she carries herself with dignity, something usually associated with age. Especially from Jasmine's point of view, who is somewhat of a bratty teenager, she's ancient.
> 
> Thanks everybody for keeping up with it! And just in case you were wondering, it's probably roughly halfway over. I'll be trying a lot harder to write it more quickly than I have been doing. You're all awesome!

Breakfast came a lot earlier than Elsa anticipated.

Day had scarcely broken and the few birds who dared soar this high along the outside of the North Mountain tower were alive with song. They could be heard through the window, which was slightly ajar to let in a light breeze. That fact stirred her more fully from her slumber; had she left it open last night? Probably, though she couldn't recall doing so.

What she certainly had not done before going to bed was leave a plate of fresh-cut strawberries on her bedside table - which is what she glimpsed when she lifted her sleep mask, curious to seek out the source of such a tantalising aroma. Her hand had barely drifted toward it when a low, sultry purred into her ear.

"Crème fraîche?"

Elsa rolled over with a sudden start, feeling her hip bump into the solid obstruction of Anna, dressed in a black lace teddy with pink ribbons. She was holding a small bowl in one hand and a satisfied smile on her lips.

"You… what?"

"Found it in your fridge," she went on in the same tone of voice, one bare shoulder rising and falling in a demure shrug. "The jar had never been opened, but… you know how well it goes with strawberries, don't you?"

Swallowing thickly, Elsa ran through a mental check. The evening had been chilly enough. Was she in her pyjamas? Yes, yes she was. Good. "A-Anna, what are you-"

"Sometimes," the younger exec cut across her as she stretched to retrieve a slice of strawberry, "things just complement each other. Like strawberry and crème fraîche." Her thin fingers dipped it into the bowl and brought it up, lightly coated with the milky substance. "White… and red."

Eyes flicking up toward Anna's ginger hair, the situation finally hit home. Elsa was being seduced. This was a development that was taking place in her insane, topsy-turvy life; Anna Snowman was trying to seduce her. As attempts go, it was somewhat trite but not at all ineffective. "R-red and white go together, do they? For what, St Valentines?"

Anna's grin was slightly bashful but mostly just pleased. Perhaps even excited. "Not a bad comparison." Her hand lowered the fruit to Elsa's lips. "Don't forget, though: I did promise you breakfast. Go on."

Elsa weighed her options as quickly as she could manage. Either she ate the berry, all but sealing their fate to play out these proceedings regardless of whether both of them were prepared for the consequences… or she would pull away, refuse the gift, and thereby hurt Anna, convince her that her attempts did not work. It might be the best plan, but it would make her friend feel unsexy, ineffectual, and foolish. That was not at all what she wanted.

What she actually wanted was to wrap her arms and legs around Anna and have her way with the pleasantly-soft little strumpet. Therefore, playing along was really quite a good compromise.

When the tip of her tongue traced along the edge of the fruit, drawing in a droplet of crème, Anna's smile widened. But when both lips slid apart to permit her teeth to sink gently into the ruddy flesh, taking exquisite time and care in doing so, that smile vanished, replaced by a look of surprise and curiosity.

"Mmm," Elsa moaned sensually as her eyes drifted closed while chewing. Then she allowed her tongue to glide out and rid her lips of any lingering crème. By the time she was finished with the action and opened her eyes again, Anna was blushing scarlet, freckles all but having disappeared. Yet she did not squeal, did not run in terror from the room.

"More?" she whispered in a small voice, fingers repositioning the tiny morsel left in them. But when Elsa's lips wrapped around it, taking the fingertips along for the ride inside her mouth, such a shiver ran up Anna's spine that it was visible. "Nnhh…"

Running her tongue lightly over her flatmate's skin, she savoured the contours, the subtle flavour of another person that startled her with just how much she had missed it. Such a long dry spell was probably impairing her judgement. When she opened her eyes one more time…

Anna was positively panting with urgency. The light confusion was an even greater aphrodisiac than her arousal or their actions, than the mingling sweetly-rich crème and tartness of strawberry against her palate. Part of Anna burned to do this, even while another part questioned how much she really wanted it and how much was just the allure of the taboo.

 _God, do I want that girl,_ Elsa admitted to herself.  _Here and now. But she isn't ready. Not for all of that, and… I want to_ make  _her ready, butter her across my toast and sink my teeth into her. How could I, though? Not when it's… when she's worth more consideration than that. Dash it all to Hell and back, I really care about her. How am I supposed to reconcile those extremes?!_

Thus, instead of going with her instinct to yank Anna down on top of her, she merely stretched both arms overhead as she rolled fully onto her back and then settled them behind her neck, crossed at the wrists. "Delicious. You may feed me, slave."

Instantly, Anna's face split into an embarrassed grin. "May I really? Wow, that's big of you."

"If you want to." Elsa allowed a tiny fraction of her own uncertainty to mar the otherwise-confident quartet of words. She was giving her an "out", a means of escape.

Which Anna soundly ignored. This time, when she reached over to get another slice of strawberry, she allowed her body to sink down on top of Elsa's, ribs and upper arm pressing into either of the elder woman's sides. The sudden closeness made both of them shiver.

"Open for the mama bird," Anna teased as she dipped the fruit into the bowl again. Elsa obeyed, and was rewarded with another bite of strawberry. It was held between the fingers again, and again it was plucked from them with wet lips suckling. "Ooh, you tease."

" _I'm_ a tease?" Elsa giggled with genuine amusement. "Look at all of this - and you, in that! You win 'tease of the year,' I'm fairly sure."

The pout was theatrical, but still adorable. "Me in what? I think it looks nice."

"Oh, most certainly it does, but brothel-nice, not puppies-and-hugs-nice."

"Hey!" With that, Anna took the third strawberry slice she had been about to offer and bumped it against Elsa's nose, leaving a dab of crème behind. "For some reason, saying I look like I belong in a whorehouse doesn't make me feel special!"

"Aww, I'm sorry," Elsa cooed, doing her best impression of Anna's pout from a moment previous. "Your poor feelings! No sense getting tetchy over it, I'm just trying to get a rise out of you."

Pursing her lips, Anna forced this morsel past her captive audience's lips this time, which Elsa bit with relish, grinning up at the captor. "So that's how you wanna play it, huh? Fine." And she leaned in and licked the stray blob from Elsa's nose.

Now that their faces were so close, it couldn't be avoided. Tension filled the air, an atmosphere that clearly implied there would be a release of it sooner rather than later. The moment was here. Another kiss and they would be lost.

"What might you expect to happen next?"

Anna blinked rapidly as if waking from a dream, but did not withdraw. "N-nothing. Well… something, but nothing sp- specific."

"Your tongue was just on my face," Elsa whispered.

"Yeah."

"You don't even know what you're doing, though. What you want. I've made it clear what I want, though; you drew it out of me. But are you sure about this?"

Her bottom lip quivered. "Hey, Elsa, I- it's not like that. You make it sound like I'm just too dumb to understand, but this is all so… so new to me. Why do you even want me, when I've n-never so much as  _looked_ at another woman like that before? It's gotta make me the absolute worst dating material for you, so why-"

"No, no." Relenting from even the very gentle pressure she had been applying, Elsa freed one hand from the sheets and pressed it against the side of Anna's neck. "Inexperience isn't a crime. I never thought you were 'dumb', either. I'm just… you're too precious for me to be careless. That's why I've been walking on eggshells, giving you free reign. Not because I don't think you're good enough."

"How do you do that? Make me feel so… important?" Her eyes squeezed a tear free when they shut, and Elsa felt her own eyes misting over at noticing it. "How could I have been so oblivious to how you like me this way, when all along you've been putting me above everybody else, treating me like royalty when I'm actually nobody at all?"

At those last words, Elsa allowed her nails to dig slightly into the flesh underneath them. "Don't you dare say that. Not just any woman gets this far past my defences, you know. At the very least, that means you aren't 'nobody', Anna. Alright?"

The silence, heavy with anticipation, had just began to grow towards being stale when it was broken into shards by Anna.

"Kiss me now. Right now, please."

Elsa wasn't through. "Why don't you kiss me? I liked that."

"No, not this time. Your turn."

"We're taking this in turns, are we?" she chuckled lightly, giving Anna's neck an extra-tender caress when she noticed the younger woman blanch at the laughter. "You're on top, you have to do the kissing."

"Then flip me over. Pin me. Make me yours. You s-said that's what would happen if I…"

Now and only now did Elsa feel her pulse cross over the threshold of danger. Clearly, Anna's appetite had been somewhat whetted even before entering the room, but Elsa had been holding herself at bay.

 _Had_ been.

"Tell me to stop."

"What? But I d-don't want you t-"

"If it becomes too much. Promise me." When Anna didn't reply, Elsa physically shook her, earning herself a tiny yelp. "I'm going to kick you out of this bedroom if you don't promise!"

"Okay!" Sensing dissatisfaction, Anna nodded, blue-green eyes sparkling with both desire and unleaked tears. Her trembling hand carefully drifted to one side and set the bowl next to the plate, fingers lingering on it as if a final anchor tethering to the shore before she was cast adrift. "I promise, I'll tell you if I need to."

"Very well."

There was a mad tangle of limbs as Elsa rolled her flatmate onto her back and pinned her wrists to either side of her own ruddy locks, which fanned out beneath her like a billowing sail in sunset. The look of shock on Anna's face was so saturated with desire that Elsa felt her own core growing hot as she gazed down at the beautiful creature squirming beneath her body.

"What was that you requested a moment ago? Ah, yes."

Elsa's lips took Anna's with practised efficiency, not restrained by reticence or confusion; it was pure need guided by the rudder of experience, navigating Anna's waters with ease. Such a moan of want exploded from the freckle-coated novice that Elsa responded with sound of her own, and they both pulled back just enough to suck in a gulp of air before their lips met again, this time Anna's responding, kneading back and trapping each in turn as Elsa's hands slid up to entangle with other hands, fingers interlacing, squeezing with all their might and being squeezed back.

It was nearly impossible to ignore the placement of their thighs and hips with Elsa on top of her like that, to disregard the heat pouring up from part of Anna that she refused to acknowledge just yet. How long had she been feeling that way? Since Elsa was atop her? Since her fingers had held a strawberry inside foreign lips? Since entering the damn room, dressed the way she was and holding full knowledge of what she was about to attempt?

Anna smelled like an entire bouquet of flowers, and it wasn't perfume. She smelled like a sunny garden. Like somewhere that a woman of glass and chrome such as herself could never call home, but desperately wished she could.

When Elsa pulled back, she spied twin tearstreaks running from the corners of her eyes down into her hair. Heart seizing, she kissed them away tenderly, then pressed her forehead down against that of her new lover.

"Too much yet?"

"I don't know," Anna whispered, so earnest that it was like swallowing shards of broken glass to listen to such frankness. "I think I love it but don't know if I can take it. Help?"

"Is it because I'm…"

"It's b-because you love me," Anna breathed in utter shock. "You really care about me, really understand and respect me, like nobody ever has. What if I screw it up? What if I let you in, and y-you find out I'm not enough? Because you feel like magic, and I'm just… just nothing."

Though she wasn't altogether surprised to hear such sentiment, she had been expecting more of Anna's reluctance to be centered on their genders. But what was this about her being nothing? "Surely you don't somehow think I'm... superior to you somehow? What nonsense."

"Of course you are! I mean, having you as a friend is one thing, but I… I'm not very… how am I supposed to satisfy you… like this? What do I know about doing this with another girl wh-when I was never even that skilled with guys?"

There was only one response that might be appropriate. Leaning in, Elsa purred into Anna's ear, "Have you heard a single word of complaint from me so far?"

Panting began immediately afterward, filling Elsa's own ear as she drew a supple lobe into her mouth, laving it lightly before allowing it to fall free with the lightest  _pop!_ As she pulled away, her lips brushed over Anna's again before moving on to the opposite jawline, puckering closed every centimetre or so, leaving the tiniest flecks of moisture as evidence she had ever been there.

"Y-you want me?" Anna was asking shakily, writhing back and forth, her hands clutching more desperately at Elsa's than ever before. "Like this? A stupid little bitch who used to think she was straight, who can't even run her company on her own, who used you just to annoy-"

Another, deeper kiss silenced her, and even the moans subsided when one tongue found another, when Elsa began to rock her hips slightly against the other pair beneath her on the bed. Anna stopped questioning. She stopped doing anything besides giving back what she was granted, bucking up against the woman she still most likely believed to be so high above her in both social status and character.

The moans resumed.

Gyrations escalated in speed, voices in pitch, lips finally parting from each other when their need for oxygen grew too great. Elsa was the picture of determination with her teeth clenched together, trying to coax every last ounce of pleasure from the moment, but Anna was coming undone entirely, head tossing to and fro and breath coming in near-feline yowls as her back arched, eyes wide in both disbelief and elation. Elsa heard her name spoken, at first as if to ask or state something but then again simply as a battle cry, a word of victory.

When Elsa bit lightly into the flesh of Anna's neck, she felt it - the moment she clearly  _surprised_ Anna into an entirely unexpected release.

"Oh!" she said with a weak giggle, redoubling her pressure as she felt Anna writhe and spasm beneath her own body, eyes closed in bliss. Holding her tongue as her partner slowly drifted down from the heights of passion, Elsa left tiny kisses on her now-glistening temple, revelling in the salty tinge of sweat. Then, when Anna was merely gasping for breath and staring at the ceiling, she whispered, "Well?"

"Well!" That was all the response she got.

Elsa wiggled her hips slightly, and got a somewhat indignant squeak from Anna for her trouble, so she laughed and fell to one side, curling slightly around Anna's limp form. "Are you okay, love?"

"Uh… huh…"

"You sure?" Grinning, she passed a finger over the lace covering her flatmate's stomach and got an accompanying shiver for her trouble. "Do I need to… go down and… check?"

"NO!" Anna blanched when Elsa flinched. "W-what I mean is, no, I'm not ready for you to… check. And I'm fine, seriously!"

The mischievous glint in Elsa's cold blue eyes softened. "That's alright, you know. There aren't any rules saying you have to be ready for  _everything_ straight away."

"What about you?" The rouge began draining from Anna's face as she forced herself to ask, "I c-couldn't tell for sure, but I don't know if you…"

"No worries about me, love. I made you happy, which makes me happy."

"B-but…" Anna glanced down toward Elsa's hips and back up again. "But that was so good, you were really driving me bonkers, and if you didn't-"

"I don't usually," Elsa admitted, trying not to look uncomfortable. She was, but only because the topic was awkward; not because she at all minded the results of their first encounter. "But giving you pleasure? It's like ambrosia to me. The way you sounded…"

For the first time since they had begun grinding against one another, Anna smiled slightly. Even so, it was a fragile smile, one made of paper and spun sugar. "How did I sound?"

"Like a thing untamed. Erotic."

Anna looked away, embarrassed but clearly also pleased. "Nobody has ever said that about me before. Not once. Erotic, me?"

Elsa's arm snaked up and caught on Anna's shoulder firmly, hugging her closer. "Please listen. You are far more desirable than… certain persons may have convinced you. So enough of that. Yes, I haven't had a steady partner in quite a while, but I've had a few brief, erhm, dalliances. As someone more studied in this area, shouldn't you defer to my expertise?"

It almost broke her heart the way Anna suddenly clung to her body, buried her face against Elsa's pyjama lapel. Because that was it. That was Anna releasing all her reservations, still wildly confused but bowing to her desires, drawing from Elsa everything she wanted: comfort, gratification, friendship. Possibly even another word that would throw their relationship into far deeper waters that Elsa wasn't even remotely considering quite yet.

"Oh, my Anna," Elsa whispered wetly, surprised to find she was almost crying. How long had Anna been sobbing? "Oh God, Anna, please don't cry, please? I c-can't- everything is fine, please…"

"You're so good to me… how can you be, why? I'm…" She stopped, as if sensing that Elsa wouldn't have stood for her belittling herself again. "I'm a stranger to you. You can't deny that one, that we barely know each other - and I'm not even gay. Not really. I mean, kind of  _now,_ I guess, but I wasn't before, it's not like you knew I'd be open to… to this. So why did you spend so much time on me, being nice to me and g-giving me whatever I needed, looking after me, when you d-didn't even know that we'd end up in bed together like this? I sure as hell didn't see it coming!"

Shrugging lightly, heart cracking in half all the while, she clung yet more tightly to the soul-searching woman in her arms and rocked back and forth. "Shhh, no worries. What does it matter now, anyway? We're together regardless of how things were back then." When Anna only sobbed harder, Elsa went on, "Because I liked you. Not just as a potential shag, but because you're a decent sort, and kind, and generous, and… I don't know, really. Just somebody I wanted in my life. That's not very detailed, I'm sure, but it's all I can tell you."

They lay like that for a very long time, Anna's tears subsiding until they were merely huddled for warmth, basking in afterglow even while they suffocated underneath feelings both of them were unaccustomed to weathering. Elsa relished every second even while she wondered if she would ever get another one.

"Do I look stupid?"

"Huh?"

"In this getup." Anna wriggled closer, nose touching Elsa's neck. "You can say 'yes', I won't be offended. But it's the only sexy thing I still own."

"Not at all," Elsa whispered. Privately, she thought it was perhaps overboard for their first time together, but Anna's lithe body certainly pulled it off. Stubbornly ignoring the thought of her  _literally_ "pulling it off", she continued, "Wh-what do you mean, 'still own'?"

Shrugging, Anna passed her hand up and down Elsa's side as she answered. "This was something I bought a while ago. To wear with Hans. I chickened out, though. We had other outfits and whatever, but this was the only one that we never… that I never used."

"Ah. So am I to assume all the others got incinerated?"

"Yep," she giggled as she pulled away to pick up the bowl and a strawberry, indulging herself now that Elsa had been fed. In more ways than one. "Along with his outfits. How did you guess?"

Elsa felt herself doing a double-take. "Wait, you really incinerated them?"

"Oh, as if it really made a dent in all my money he made off with. Besides, it's not like I burned  _him_ or anything - technically, they were my property. He let me have them as part of the settlement. Nice of him, huh?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, the CEO pondered their new situation. It was very early days, but what if things kept trending in the same direction? Would they get married, merge their houses? They were already living together. How would they handle the prenup? Divide everything down the middle? Calculate their individual net worths and leave with the same percentages at the end of everything?

 _No,_ Elsa thought as she watched Anna munching on fruit, most likely still ruminating on her husband and how wronged she had been by their parting.  _No, if I enter into a union with that lovely creature, it truly will be until death do us part. All or nothing._

_Did we really just do what I think we did?_

Shaking that thought loose and tossing it aside for now, she rubbed the arch of one foot along Anna's calf idly, watching her blue-green eyes for a reaction. She got one; the redhead shivered, then peered over at Elsa uncertainly, looking more scared than anyone she had ever seen look without being more wholly terrified.

_She thinks I want to go again? Christ, I'm not a machine! Although… well, she's new to this, and I'm rusty. Maybe I really am sending that signal. Best pull back._

"Thanks for this," Elsa sighed contentedly, patting Anna's stomach gently. It wasn't quite cheeky, but just this side of it so that it couldn't be misconstrued as overly flirtatious. "Who knows how long I'd have danced around things if you hadn't upped the ante?"

"I didn't do anything," Anna half-whispered, glancing down at the bowl of crème in her hands. Then she glanced past it to her attire. "Well, um, okay. Will you be mad if I say I was kind of hoping that… this might not be any fun?"

"What?"

"Don't be mad!" Anna rushed ahead, setting the bowl down to turn and look at her more properly. "J-just, well, I couldn't  _stand_ not trying this with you for another day, I really couldn't! But… part of me was hoping we'd try it, and I wouldn't like it. So I…"

"So you could go back to being straight, and your life would magically reboot and everything would be 'normal' again."

The tiny nod was so morose that Elsa nearly burst into tears herself.  _Been there, done that,_  she thought bitterly. "Pretty much. It doesn't make me some kind of loser or hypocrite, does it?"

"Not even a bit. How do you know you won't like something if you don't try it?"

"Yes, Mother," Anna snickered as she sat up slightly with a catlike stretch of her arms. "Ahh… so, I'm starving for some reason. Can't even guess why."

"Utter mystery," Elsa agreed.

"Omelettes? Or do we go out for those bagels you love so much?"

Shaking her head, Elsa pushed herself up and sauntered over to her drawers, pawing through them for clothes. "We'll eat in. I daresay this will set us back a few minutes in our daily plans."

"Do we shower together?" When Elsa's hand slipped off the edge of the dresser and she nearly fell over, Anna hastened to follow up, "Forget it! Forget I said anything! God, I'm dumb, I j-just don't know how to lesbian yet!"

 _God save us, she's already using it as a verb._ "Let me help you out a bit," Elsa grunted as she picked out her underwear. "Remember how everything worked with your other relationships? Take that and remove things like 'condoms' and 'Sports Channel subscriptions'. That's how it's going to work in this one."

At that, Anna folded her arms over her scarcely-concealed chest. "How do you know I wasn't the one getting the subscriptions? I do like to catch Wimbledon." When Elsa fixed her with a penetrating gaze, she wilted. "Okay, fine, I'm full of it. But  _you_ could like Sports Channel."

"I really couldn't, love." Taking a step toward the bathroom, she misstepped. "Ehrm… I normally shower first thing. Do you… want to get breakfast going, or should we both shower? Still not sure what order you prefer your morning schedule."

"Dunno. Can your water heater handle both going at the same time?" Elsa merely looked around at the walls, and Anna grinned. "Stupid question; penthouse, billionaire."

"Millionaire," Elsa corrected. "I've not been  _that_ ruthless. Fine, I'll shower, you get flipping eggs."

"You got it, chief!"

She was halfway into the bathroom before Elsa backed up a step to watch Anna's lace-covered behind saunter into the kitchen. Forcing her brain to snap back to the task at hand, she put all lascivious thoughts from her mind as she walked toward the shower.

"Oh," she muttered as she moved the dress hanging over the curtain rod to the hook on the back of the door and turned on the hot water. Letting her hand glide through it for a moment as she waited for its temperature to adjust, she began reflecting on her good fortune.

_Anna doesn't hate me. She doesn't resent me for 'turning her gay', as they used to think of it. How did I get this sodding lucky?_

Unbuttoning her silk top, she stared at herself in the mirror. Pushing thirty agreed with her; she wished she could say she looked young for her age, but that simply wasn't true. Still, a lot of women younger than her were beginning to sag or wrinkle. Time had not granted her bonus points, but it had been kind. Ageing gracefully, as they called it. She'd rather not age at all, but this was an acceptable compromise. Also, her artfully-disheveled hair bespoke of a very,  _very_ enjoyable dawn. Life still held plenty of promise.

And then her eyes flicked to the reflection of the dress hanging from the hook on the door.

Bare feet slapped against hardwood as she thundered past her faux-fur rug, but they were met halfway there by Anna's as she blasted out of the kitchen, a flurry of aproned hotness. The two of them clasped hands and yelped in unison.

"The party! It's  _tonight!"_

_\- To Be Continued -_


	11. Working The Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know this story has thus far been pretty romance-heavy, especially the last few chapters. Which is fine, of course! But this upcoming chapter is a turning point with the plot in couple of ways. Hopefully everyone finds it to their liking.
> 
> To address drakefyre's comment: Elsa was only referring to Anna as a "strumpet" due to the risque outfit she was wearing, and yes, in the more modern connotation.
> 
> Also, while listening to this I discovered something to set the mood: look up "DeepLoungeMusic" on Youtube. They do covers of pop hits in a 60s smooth jazz style, it's really… bizarre, but good! I especially liked "Somebody That I Used To Know" and the Adele ones, ahaha.
> 
> And this is a birthday present from me to all of you (even though it's my birthday, ahaha). Thanks for sticking with me for 10 years of fanfiction writing, no matter how much of that time we've spent together!

The Suarez Centre was awash with the sounds of clinking glasses and sophisticated conversation, so much so that it spilled outside and into the night surrounding. The gorgeous little three-story building with its flying buttresses and ornate scrollwork had been heralded as an architectural marvel by critics and the common man alike when construction completed ten years previous. It might have been sorely out of place in such a modern city, but that was part of the charm.

Of course, the only reason North Mountain were granted the space without having to pay a small fortune to book it was because it benefitted the Fredricksen Foundation. The city council and the directors of the centre loved charity functions almost as much as they liked tax revenue.

"I can't go in there."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You can, and you will."

"No, I can't!" Swallowing thickly, Anna adjusted the sweetheart neckline of her dress for the hundredth time, apparently trying to hide her cleavage. An exercise in futility if ever there was one, but it made Elsa giggle inwardly. "Everybody's going to see my goods! What if I don't want them on display, since they're not for sale?!"

"It's a bit late for second thoughts now, love. We're at the gates of Hell."

Pursing her lips, she leaned forward to gaze past Elsa and out the tinted window of the limousine to the one couple standing just outside the three sets of double-doors, champagne flutes in hand and laughter in their faces, and the two guards checking invitations. "Which one of those guys is supposed to be Cerberus?"

"Anna, please!"

"Fine, fine! Lead on, Highness!"

Sighing heavily, Elsa picked up her clutch in one gloved hand and reached the other back for her companion's. After a moment's hesitation, she felt a thin hand slip inside hers, but it trembled so much that she paused halfway to the door. "Anna?"

"Get moving, slowpoke. I don't want to miss all those canapés or whatever."

"Anna, you don't have to go if you really don't want to, I would understand. Herbie can take you home as easily as he can sit around the block waiting for us, and I wouldn't think any less of y-"

"I'm nervous, yes," she breathed, chewing at her lower lip for a brief moment. "But I'm going. Th-this is important to you, and… I am curious how the Arendopolois elite throw a shindig."

Elsa watched Anna's face for another few seconds, to make absolutely sure she was ready to be seen, critiqued and treated like fresh meat on a hook in an enormous freezer. Then she rapped on the window glass twice. A young valet sprung to the car to open the door, allowing her to more easily glide from the limousine's innards and gently lift her guest out after.

"Names, please," one of the guards asked in a deep, rumbling voice that brooked no discussion of the matter.

"Elsa Froiland, plus one."

The man raised an eyebrow; it was impossible to miss. However, his only other action was to glance down his clipboard and mark off Elsa's name before gesturing for she and Anna to pass.

"Oh, this is fun already," Anna moped under her breath. "That guy thought we were weird."

"No, he was mildly surprised I brought anyone. Keith has been working the door at our functions for a few years now, and I've always shown up stag. Or 'doe', I suppose, since I'm a woman. Why is a male-specific term used for showing up to a party sans-escort?"

"Are you sure it's just that, and not that we're…?"

A light shrug as they glided past the useless coat check; it wasn't nearly cold enough to bother. "Might be, but I shouldn't think so. Either way, you saw he didn't let it deter his professionalism, and that's as much as I expect from our hired hands."

They both held up short at the wide archway that led through to the main ballroom. After a moment of coughing and fidgeting, Elsa turned and fussed with the elegant little silver necklace draped around her companion's neck, making sure the jewelled charm was dead center on her chest.

"Stop it, Mom," Anna half-tittered.

"Th-that is in no way acceptable!" Elsa hissed, feeling her face beginning to warm. It drew attention to their age difference, which was something she still felt the tiniest bit sensitive about. But as Anna laughed, she took a few deep breaths and regained her composure; she had years of practice at exactly that. "Alright. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's go wow these stuffy old geezers."

When Elsa and Anna stepped through the archway, every last eye was drawn to the pair. The reasons were varied and equally important. Firstly, the head of the company throwing the ball had arrived. Secondly, arrived with a woman on her arm. Thirdly, arrived in a stunning dress of rich, royal violet with a Queen Anne neckline and long, elegant opera gloves that had half the women in the room salivating with jealousy. And most of the men simply salivating.

Still, Elsa suspected that Anna's emerald-and-seafoam creation was the one earning them all the lingering stares. She was only too happy that Ella's seamstresses (or more likely a computer program of seamstresses) had been able to recreate the dress in green so quickly. Elsa's dress was a handmade original; it could not have been palette-swapped nearly so fast.

Changing the colour had been necessary, though, and not just because Anna looked best in green. No matter how you sliced it, showing up in  _matching dresses_ would have been tacky. And telling.

"Why do I keep hearing the theme from  _Jaws_ in my head?" Anna whispered.

"Hush, they won't devour you. Not whole. Maybe take little nibbles here and there."

"You've had one too many nibbles already, my dear. Shouldn't you give your hips a little more consideration?"

Both Elsa and Anna turned to their left to see a slender woman with her greying hair teased up so that it looked more like a cushion than a part of her anatomy. Her drawn, haughty features left no room for dissention in her presence, as if she were royalty, and her blood red dress did nothing to refute this air of oppressive authority.

"Sowena," Elsa said in a falsely welcoming tone. Even Anna winced at the pretense while her date managed to just barely catch hold of the elderly woman's fingers, holding them away from herself as if an unclean animal she'd found scurrying in an alley before dropping them again. "Had no idea you were in the States for this little soiree. Tell me, how's that sciatica treating you lately?"

The woman's smile was both bitter and poisonous. "Oh, I'd managed to forget every word about it. Until just now, funnily enough." She glanced back and forth between the two of them pointedly. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Ah, forgive my manners. Anna, this is  _the_ Lady Tremaine."

When Anna took her hand, mimicking Elsa's gesture, Sowena rolled her eyes artfully, as one who'd had a lot of practice with the action might. "I am third in line for the marquessdom, it's hardly anything worth mentioning."

"And yet you do, often and vocally." Before the Lady could respond to that, Elsa smoothly continued, "Sowena, this is Anna Snowman. Her company is a recent aquisition; I'm bringing her along as a courtesy. Thought she might enjoy seeing us all dressed up like tannenbaums."

"Yuletide greetings, then, Snowman," the woman quipped distractedly as she stared at the stage.

"I'm sorry, are we boring Your Ladyship?"

Sowena pulled a face of genuine regret. "It's just that I was so looking forward to hearing Sir James Blunt. His second heart replacement is supposedly a medical miracle, but it seems his recovery is taking longer than projected. What does anybody know about this, this… who is she supposed to be?"

"Aurora," Anna breathed, pupils already dilating.

Elsa allowed herself a small smile. Hopefully, it would never make its way back to Anna's ears how, the instant she found out about Mr. Blunt's breaking the date, she had demanded Aurora's number from Sven and given the young diva a call. A fair amount of haggling over booking price and repeated mentions of the charity the funds would go toward finally lured her to their gala. This news had obviously made its way around the Arendopolis social circles, as she spotted many younger faces in the crowd that normally gave this event a miss. Her star power may really have been the best thing for the benefit, regardless of Elsa's initial motivation.

Aurora herself was stunning, waves of honey-coloured hair striking against her barely-there pink catsuit - and there were so many strategically-placed holes in it that it barely counted as a suit at all. However, instead of the thumping beats that usually accompanied her songs, there was a string quartet, a drummer well-versed in lounge percussion, and a pianist, and the prima donna's vocals did not suffer for them. In Elsa's opinion, she sounded much better this way.

"Go and say hello," she whispered to Anna.

"What?! N-no, I- are you freaking kidding me? She's  _Aurora,_ she's famous! I cannot even be breathing her air right now!"

"When she takes a break, then," she snickered, reaching out to pluck champagne from a passing tray. "Honestly, she's here for the same event you are. Don't be shy."

The rouge in Anna's cheeks was not part of her makeup. "I'll b-be as shy as I want!"

"Not around the office, she isn't!" said Kai as he joined them, a brownish suit stretched tightly over his midsection. It was only then that Elsa noticed Sowena had wandered away at some point, and found she cared very little. "In fact, she's warmer and more approachable than most kindergarten teachers. Miss Snowman, Miss Froiland."

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," Anna said, hugging the man who had blessedly distracted her from being in the presence of tabloid royalty. He blinked in surprise for a moment before returning her embrace with a bemused grin. "Thought this was just for bigwig types!"

"It is, it is, but I managed to sneak an invitation this year! I wonder how I did that…?"

Elsa pursed her lips, nudging him in the paunch. "No idea what you're hinting at. Anyway, how are things looking over in the accounting department?"

"Never better! Nothing… out of the ordinary. Which is great; it makes my job easier!'

"I'm sure it does," she breathed in some relief. So they weren't trying to put anything over on her from that angle; it at least eased her worries in one spot, if not entirely. "Any other water cooler gossip I might find interesting?"

"Well…"

"Out with it, Hall."

The pained look on his face made it clear he was uncomfortable revealing what had reached his ears - nearly as uncomfortable as Anna was with being this adjacent. Which was why she made a polite nod to Elsa and Kai as she moved off to inspect a nearby statue.

"Word is," Kai murmured as he leaned in, "that the players in the Winter Consortium are about to make a move."

"What sort of move? Any details, any at all?"

"Search me, Ma'am. Wish I could do any better than that. And I can't tell you who told me, either, so there's no point pushing for it."

Her smile was tired but grateful when she pulled back enough to look her old friend in the eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it. And thank you."

"Anytime." He took a deep breath, smoothing what was left of his hair down as his voice raised above a whisper again. "Well, Mrs. Hall is probably over there telling anyone with a pulse about my colonoscopy video, so I'd better go stand around and look upset. Excuse me."

As Kai moved off to hopefully silence his wife, Elsa spotted someone else in the crowd; a boorish, thick-necked jackinapes she had hoped never to see again. She also noted that his hands were all over another someone with luxurious dark ringlets who was mostly resigned to letting him do it, even though once in a while her eyelid twitched.

That wouldn't do. Not in the slightest.

When she finally reached them, she saw him suddenly pause in mid-movement. Then he withdrew both hands to himself in the same motion as he turned to look at her. "Ah! Hello there, Miss Froiland, wh-what a pleasant surprise!"

"Pleasant surprise, Huntsman? You do know I organised this event, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Gaston grunted, eyeing his companion nervously. "Just didn't think I'd see you out here, mingling with common folk like us."

"You are woefully common," she admitted with a glare. "However, you're also a guest who I expect paid his fair way into being here, and I wouldn't dream of asking you to leave. Unless you caused some sort of… for example, disturbance. Naturally, that would be unwelcome."

"Naturally."

The bespectacled woman at Gaston's elbow seemed quite curious about this exchange, and stood back a few inches to watch it more properly. "Anyone you'd like to introduce me to?"

"R-right, where are my manners?" Swallowing down his evident fear, he gestured between them. "Belle, Elsa; Elsa, Belle."

"From accounting," Elsa said with a bright grin as she shook the demure woman's hand. "Mr. LeGume has told me so much about you."

"How would he do that?" Belle asked baldly. "I bet he could count the number of things he knows about me on one finger."

"Not true!" Gaston objected strongly. "Your favourite place to eat lunch is Mario's on Fifth."

"That's  _your_ favourite place. Mine is- oh, what's the point?"

"Be a dear and get your plus one a glass of water? She looks a bit peaky." Elsa's white teeth flashed. "Unless you'd like me to accompany you? Thought I told you what might happen if we crossed paths again - and here you are, with Belle!"

"Going, going!" he said hurriedly. "I m-mean, wouldn't want her to faint or anything!" Then he was high-tailing it out of there before the situation could devolve further.

"Thank you," Belle half-laughed, hiding the sound and accompanying grin behind her daffodil-coloured glove. "He hasn't taken one hint from me to back off in the last half-hour."

"And he likely never will. How on earth did that ox convince you to come with him?"

Belle's delicate shoulders lifted in a tiny shrug. "He had an extra ticket. Plus, I've never been to one of these. When you're as low on the corporate food chain as I am, you tend not to find your way into that many social functions."

"Ah, quite. Still… you'll let me know if he gives you any further trouble, won't you? He and I have a certain… understanding." And with that, they touched their wrist computers together, exchanging contact information.

"You do, huh? What, are you sleeping with him already?" The instant she saw the disgust cross Elsa's face, Belle cleared her throat and added, "Sorry, I- wow, did I misread that! And I usually read things so well - just ask anyone, my nose is always stuck in a book!"

"My skin is crawling. No, seriously, look at it crawl!"

They both laughed and made small talk until Gaston returned with a Perrier and a hangdog expression. Elsa and Belle exchanged a brief hug and she left before he could re-engage her in conversation, but not without shooting him a death glare to remind him of the peril that may befall him should he disregard her ample warnings to treat the accountant with deference and respect.

Elsa spent the next five or ten minutes mingling, circulating among the various faces and names she recalled just well enough to produce a few dusty facts with a flourish and come off seeming at the top of her game. This evening would be talked about for weeks.

When she finally made her way back toward Anna's side, she was mildly irked to see David Xanatos chatting her up, a hand possessively pawing at her elbow, her head tipped back in laughter. Before she could wing her way yet closer, however, she was waylaid.

"Elsa,  _dahhhling!"_  Ella of Felton's cried out as she threw her hands upon Elsa's shoulders and drew her in for a pair of socialite air-kisses on either side of her face. "Thank God, I've been looking for you all evening! Where is my creation? How does it hang? I was worried about a little tweak I did with the bustline, wanted to see with my own eyes how it turned out!"

Laughing uncomfortably at Ella's obviously alcohol-increased volume, she gestured to the corner where David was apparently getting to know Anna better. "There it hangs."

Elsa's collagen-inflated lips pursed. "Hmm. I seem to recall some very vocal crowings in my shop about that pretty little redhead being your newest… acquisition?"

"Oh, stop that!" Elsa hissed self-consciously. "Can't you leave well enough alone?"

"Please, I am merely curious about why you're here and she's with him. Is that a crime?"

"She's j-just being friendly."

They both watched Anna place a hand on David's lapel as she laughed, saw the flash of his teeth as he laughed with her. "You said it, not me."

"Get out of it."

"Getting out," Ella sighed with a roll of her eyes. "There's Dearly; we have a date to pick apart that Aurora trollop's hideous dayglo outfit."

Elsa squared her shoulders as she prepared to move through the throng again. "Ah, the wonders mutual hatred can work on two bitter rivals. You'll excuse me, then?"

"Go get your girlie back, Froiland." The football-worthy pat on the behind as she walked away made Elsa yelp, but it wasn't the most ridiculous act Ella had ever perpetrated, either. The list was long and embarrassing.

It took nearly another two minutes for the CEO to disentangle herself from three involved conversations and just barely avoid getting mini-quiches smeared all down her dress. Then, she found herself next to Anna and David, blinking at the suddenness with which she had achieved her goal.

"Well, there she is," David said easily, working his charm for all it was worth. "We were beginning to think you didn't have time for the little people."

"You know what they say," Elsa began sweetly. "There are no small men; only small appendages." While two pairs of eyes were still widening at that barb, she turned to Anna. "I trust David has been sparkling company, as usual?"

"Actually, he was just telling me about his cottage up in Canada," Anna said, cheeks aglow with excitement at their surroundings - and possibly the champagne flute in her hand.

"Outside Calgary," David elaborated as he adjusted a cufflink. "I invited Miss Snowman up anytime she wishes to do a little skiing. The invitation includes yourself, of course."

"Of course."

Then he did that thing Elsa had known he would do: he began to deftly control the conversation in a way she was sure he had not been doing until she arrived. "You would be arriving together, yes?"

Elsa's mouth opened slowly - too slowly, for Anna had already blurted, "Yeah, of course!"

"The airlines likely have a special friends' rate," Elsa added carefully, glaring at David.

"Likely so," he said with a wide smile. Elsa wondered if Anna caught the triumphant gleam in his eye as if he had unearthed something crucial to his master plan. She merely hoped that wasn't literal. What if this tied in with what the Consortium was plotting against her?

"Ohhhkay," Anna said uncomfortably, clearly having missed any darker implications but sensing that she wasn't in on the whole story. "Doesn't that sound like fun, though? I haven't been skiing since I was a little girl!"

"A right little treat, yes."

David waved over their heads to someone across the room before returning his attentions to Elsa. "How many times did you go with… what was her name again? Carol or something?"

That was when she felt her veins begin to run thick with shards of ice. Anything but that. "A few. Skiing wasn't her thing; more for tropical getaways than parkas and balaclavas. Now, if you'll excuse us, there's someone I'd like Anna to meet."

As they moved off, Elsa felt his eyes on her back, stabbing into her soul as if he has preternatural powers. Perhaps he did. The company at large had never known much about her romantic entanglements, and Xanatos had not even been with them in those days. How did he know? Why was he making it his business to unsettle her and generally cause a mess in her life?

"Who's Carol?" Anna whispered, dodging a careless elbow. "Was she your last, um…"

"I don't know any Carol."

Anna frowned slightly, irritated by Elsa's reticence. "Well, it sounded like he got the name wrong, so whoever he meant when he said Carol."

"Hmm."

"H-how long were you two, um… together?"

"A while."

"Why are we moving so fast? Who do you have to introduce me to, anyway?"

"Anybody who isn't that manipulative snake, David."

"Wh… I'm sorry, but I don't get what you mean! He was perfectly nice to me."

At last, Elsa sighed and stopped, turning to look her full in her bright, sparkling turquoise eyes. "Not everyone who's trying to use or hurt you actually socks you across the dial, pet. Haven't you ever met anyone with a hidden agenda before?"

"Fine," Anna grunted as she folded her arms. "What's his hidden agenda, then? Still that stupid consortium thing? I thought they already did what they set out to accomplish."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But he's trying to pit us against each other; get you thinking about my former lovers and distrusting me. Maybe they heard about…" She swallowed thickly; none of her board members were dancing or standing nearby. "About what my call told me."

Anna nodded, eyebrows hiking. "But how could they even know that? You had OLAF sweep your office for bugs! That's crazy paranoid!"

"Crazy paranoid is how you keep your head above water in this world."

"Just tell me about Not-Carol, then. Clear the air. Then he won't have any ammunition to use against either of us."

Every last ounce of energy drained from Elsa's face, and it was only through sheer determination she was able to keep from falling backward into whoever's arms might have been standing behind her. This was all just far too much. "That's not a five second conversation, Anna."

"Why? Did she dump you? Did you catch her cheating, did she embezzle company funds? Does she have three nipples? I mean, come on, give me somewhere to work from!"

Elsa couldn't help laughing. "Three  _what?"_

Anna's reply got drowned out by scattered applause, and the next moment they found themselves being chivvied gently aside by none other than Aurora herself. "God, these old people are kind of stodgy, but it gives me an idea for a music video."

"My apologies," Elsa sighed, trying her best to hide the annoyance at being interrupted.

"Wait… that accent. Are you Elsa Freeland?"

"Froiland," Anna corrected in a distant voice, but Elsa was already nodding as if used to that.

"Schway," the pop star said with a slight smile. "So this was your idea. It's kitschy, I like it." She lowered her voice a tiny fraction of a decibel. "Too bad all these fogeys are kind of dragging it down, but it's cool. Guess you need these types to give to the charity or whatever."

"Right in one," she answered blandly. Then she gestured to the side. "Aurora, Anna Snowman."

"Oh my God, I loved your book!" Anna said in a hushed voice, acting as if they were on hallowed ground and Aurora were some sort of Pope-like figure. "And that movie you had the cameo in? I caught it on cable  _just_ to see you, and you were hilarious!"

"Nobody gets that," Aurora replied contemplatively. "Most of my songs have humour in them nobody notices, too. It's the eternal curse of an artist that nobody will fully understand her art. I like you, Annie."

For some strange reason, she then booped Anna's nose with an index finger before moving off into the crowd, eyes scanning for a drink.

"Did she just, um, add me to some kind of mental collection of people who don't suck?" Anna said, positively vibrating with excitement.

They both exchanged a flabbergasted grin. Elsa wanted to rush forward and kiss her when she looked like that. Moreso than every other second of the day, when she still wanted to do the same.

Then the squeal of a microphone picking up feedback from the speakers brought their flinching attentions up to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you all for coming!" began old Dick Weselton, looking quite dapper in his top and tails for once, even if it was a dapper from another millennium. "Yes, on behalf of North Mountain and myself, this really is one of the most worthy things we do all year, and it's so good to see you all in attendance - and with your pocketbooks at the ready!"

Weak laughter met his ears. Someone coughed.

"What is he doing?" Elsa hissed as he continued to blather about the Fredricksen Foundation and how the proceeds from the cost of each ticket and any further donations would go almost entirely to the children. "This is supposed to be my speech, and it's not supposed to happen for another hour!"

"Maybe he just wanted to do his part," Anna suggested reasonably. "Or maybe Aurora needed a break and he's trying to fill in."

"Maybe," Elsa conceded grudgingly. "But I still- eh?"

Her wrist had pinged. As she kept Dick in the corner of her eye, she brought her wristphone up and saw she had a new message from an anonymous sender. Figuring it had to be at least somewhat more interesting than her colleague's droning speech, she opened it.

And immediately covered the tiny projection with her other hand.

"What?" Anna whispered, moving in to crowd around her and help block the view from the other guests, sensing that it wasn't something for public eyes. "What's wrong? Did… did you… oh."

It was a three-dimensional image of the two of them embracing in the ball pit at Wonderland Galleria, Elsa's face still just barely visible above the coloured spheres, Anna's grin standing out in strong relief. They both looked silly in a playground for children and they both looked extremely sapphic in that instance.

Scrolling across the midpoint of the image were these words:  _Your position or your reputation?_

"What in the fu-"

"CEO Elsa Froiland!"

At hearing Dick call out her name, her eyes jerked up to see he was turning the crowd in her direction. Instantly, she thumbed the wristphone off and stood straighter. What was going on?

"That's it, there we go!" he went on merrily as she climbed the steps to the stage to stand next to him, smiling easily at the crowd as if this had been what she expected all along. "Right, then. We have a little announcement to make regarding the future of North Mountain, everyone!"

There was a curious muttering throughout the Suarez Centre at those words. As Elsa held her plastic smile in place, she scanned the crowd for the other Consortium members; Esmeralda looked bored and Clayton looked positively triumphant. David, on the other hand, was simply watching with great interest, mouth hidden behind a wine glass. He wouldn't have missed this for all the vodka in Koltsovo - and that's a lot of vodka.

"It's been a fairly… open secret that our overseas divisions aren't doing quite so well as our Arendopolis offices," Dick went on, voice dropping as if greatly saddened or disturbed by this news.  _Such theatrics,_  Elsa thought. "The saddest part is that our CEO's home country of Norway has been hit hard by the recent recession there - and even though the country is now flush again, that branch of our company has yet to recover."

It was true. Her last terse communique from her father - at Christmas, the only time he heard from him other than her birthday - had said as much, and she had glanced over the company reports. One of many things on her list to tackle eventually.

"Therefore, it is with a mixture of both regret and pride that we announce our big cheese herself, Elsa Froiland, will be relocating to Bygdøy to breathe new life into our interests there! Let's hear it for this bold move, everyone!"

And then it all came together in her mind as the hands began to come together, as a few people whistled or cheered. This had been the meaning of their forming a consortium, and of all their posturing, and of moving money around and buying or selling companies as they saw fit. It had likely even been their hope long before she started vocally complaining about their practises; that she would show herself to be too personally invested in a single cause for reasons other than business. Proven by the photo currently in her wristphone's inbox in which she was seen canoodling with the head of Snowman Home Robotics. Protesting their announcement would only get that photo leaked to the press. She would be ruined. And even if she decided she could weather the twin storms of being outed and fraternising with another head-of-company, publicly refuting this announcement would make her look beyond incompetent.

The Winter Consortium had put her in checkmate. Like it or not, Elsa was going back to Norway.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	12. Non-Disclosure Agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about how long it took me to get this chapter out! I've been dealing with several personal issues, as well as working on MSM and other projects. Truth is, I feel like I needed a break from Elsanna a bit; much though I love the fandom, I literally see it every single day on my Tumblr dash and I guess some days that's more than enough, and navigating that plus trying to write fic overwhelms me. Hope this doesn't offend any of you, but it really shouldn't; this is about what I want and how my mind works.
> 
> But today, I'm putting in the Blu-Ray and letting the movie play in the background for inspiration! We're about to kick ass and take names!
> 
> Ugh, and now I'm crying. This is not conducive to writing.
> 
> Also, I apologise for how dark and sad this chapter gets, but it's been coming for some time. I held it off for twelve chapters, it was the best I could do.
> 
> Jessex

There was a certain finality to the  _click_ of the trunk when Elsa slammed the lid shut. This one was mostly full of business suits, and she sincerely doubted she'd be needing anything inside until she arrived. Various toiletries could be more easily purchased again than packed and unpacked. Most of her posh artefacts and memorabilia were too fragile to be moved more than strictly necessary.

As she continued to tuck rolls of pantyhose and other sundry items into her carry-on, a bottle of paracetamol fell and knocked against her shoe, rolling under the bed. Cursing mildly under her breath, she knelt to retrieve it… and instead found a small slice of strawberry.

Elsa slowly sank to the floor, staring down at the thin red bit of discarded matter. Here it was; evidence that a mere two days ago, she had been happy.

~ o ~

Applause filled her ears like the rushing of ocean waves, hands were pounding her on the back. Though she did her best to nod and seem gracious, she was sure it was easily transparent to anyone who was granting the speech more than half their attention that she was less than enthused about a return to Europe. Not that it even began to cover how she truly felt.

 _Those bastards,_ she thought as she managed not to trip on her way down from the stage.  _They really have done an end run around all of my safeguards. Well, this will not stand. I shall find a way around it! I have not yet begun to fight!_

Anna's arm around her shoulder gave her some small comfort as the cacophony persisted, and she waved to everyone, muttered thank-yous and how-lovelies on her way to the restroom. Once inside, she let her armour drop and completely broke down.

"It's not so bad," Anna had told her through a strained voice, trembling hands doing all they could to soothe her more-than-friend. "Obviously, you're the top shareholder, there's no way they can legally seize the entire company; this isn't a big deal."

"It is," she growled through her tears. "They manipulated me! Just when I was entirely positive that my position was secure, when I thought I had thwarted their scheme… I'm utterly destroyed by this ace up their sleeve. Remorseless and spineless scoundrels they may be, but… but who cares about their moral fibre when they've beaten me?"

"I do," Anna snapped, grasping her by both shoulders. "It does matter to me, b-because I know you've been doing the right thing! This company is still yours, and not because you tricked anybody! Eventually, justice is going to win out and we both know that!"

It took several deep breaths before Elsa's throat could form coherent sound again. "When does 'eventually' come to pass, Anna? When will we vanquish the interlopers?"

"Interlopers?" It was the turn of phrase that broke Anna out of her mood, and she cracked a sympathetic smile. "Come on, they're jerks, but I don't think it's going to take an army and a battering ram. We'll find a way."

Perhaps it was merely desperation to find solace in the face of such an unexpected shock, but Elsa found herself nodding very slightly. She was right, of course. Elsa knew it; she just needed a moment to let her rage subside.

Minutes passed in silence before the door to the ladies' banged open and another voice intruded. "Dahling, are you alright?"

Swiping furiously at her face, the CEO stood up from where she was perched on the courtesy bench against the far wall and held herself upright. "Dandy, Ella. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because your hired hands are putting you out to pasture, dear," Ella chuckled lightly, retouching her makeup in the mirror. "Like an old cow."

"Your comparison is much appreciated," Elsa grunted.

"Oh, suck it up, buttercup. You'll get your own back in good time." A light shrug. "I've seen you handle worse. Remember the crude oil scandal three years back?"

That sent a fresh shudder down Elsa's back. "Indeed."

"And you had everyone who was previously screaming for your head on a spike patting you on the back for your 'innovative solution' before the quarterly reports were out. Turn it around, strudel; make lemonade out of lemons."

"You're right, the pair of you. It's… going to be difficult to get this decision lifted, but not impossible. Thank you."

"Of course," Anna agreed softly, face stretching into a grin. "Man, I've seen you in action in the board room, and you're a- a raging storm! You'll have them shaking in their shoes in no time!"

"Give them a good kick in the teeth," Ella added with her toothy smile.

Pushing her shoulders back, Elsa examined her own face in the mirror. Her makeup was abysmal, but a few dabs with a tissue cured that. "Exactly, old friend! There's always hope!"

~ o ~

"There's no hope."

It took a great deal of self-control to prevent Elsa from leaping over the desk and throttling Sven Kristofferson where he sat. "Come again?"

"I've been over and over North Mountain policy, Glacier," he went on, swiping his meaty hand back and forth over the surface of his SmartDesk. "And while normally you would have been included in any and all meetings in regards to the position of Chairman of the Board, if the current CEO is determined to be operating, and I quote, 'without consideration for the best interests of the company', they can omit you from the proceedings since you're the whole problem in the first place. All here in ones and zeroes."

"But I'm not a problem! They're the ones with the dirty dealings going on under the boardroom table! Can't I just… fire them all for what they've done, prove that they were acting to protect their own assets rather than for the sake of North Mountain?"

"You could if you were still Chairman, of course - or at least call for another 'vote of no confidence' to fire other board members, do what they did to you. But now that you've been displaced… you'll have to go through shareholder channels."

Elsa's heart sank. The aforementioned channels would open up doors for endless meetings that  _may_ eventually lead to their removal, it was true, but they weren't going to grant her the satisfaction of literally shouting "you're fired" into that smug Dick Weselton's face. "Fantastic. In the meantime, my actual position within the company will slip further and further if I don't maintain a semblance of dignity and relocate to Norway until I can manipulate my stakes into getting me reinstated as chair."

"Bingo."

"'Regional Manager Of Norwegian Interests'. It even sounds made up. Oh, Sven," she sighed weakly, leaning back in the chair to massage her temples. "I'm not sure I've the heart to keep rolling back the tide like this, every little snag, every micro-crisis. I'm just… tired."

At that, he finally looked up from the data in front of him. "Froiland, you don't look so hot."

"I don't feel so hot."

"Can this really be you? Talking about, y'know... stepping down?"

Her shoulders lifted briefly before sagging again. "I'm still the majority shareholder. Even if I left my position as Chairman, I could sell off a few shares whenever I need money and likely live off it for the rest of my life. Perhaps a slightly less frivolous lifestyle would be in order, but..."

"And your shares pay out dividends," Sven conceded with a grunt as he folded his hands and propped them under his chin, staring down at the desk. "I know, I know. Just seems like you've gone to way too much work to throw in the towel now, just sit back and collect."

"Oh, I agree. But when the business world has become so cutthroat that I'm being replaced by the team  _I assembled_ to populate my board, then it's-"

"Wait. How old is this?"

Elsa forced one eye to open, squinting at Sven. "How old is what?"

"This contract, the one that gives them the right to bump you to another position without notice, or a hearing." He flipped forward a digital page, then back. "Knew something didn't smell right."

"Can't smell any worse than you," Elsa quipped as she leaned over the desk. With a flourish, Sven rotated the display so they could both read it if they leaned in. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

He gestured. "This clause here. It's very,  _very_ non-standard. I mean, the wording is almost identical to what I'd normally find in a contract like this, but a verb here, a preposition there, and now… see what I mean?"

"Well, yes." The longer she stared at it, the closer her eyebrows drew to each other. "In fact, I'm almost certain that isn't how it looked when I last renewed my contract. Of course, it's been a while - close to a year, I should think."

A certain excitement was creeping into Sven's voice as he asked, "Did you ever get a hard copy? Something you can compare against this digital one?"

"I'm afraid not. You know that's no longer standard practise with the Ecology Initiative in place, and I've done my level best to keep my company green."

"Mine, too," he acquiesced. "Just hoping. What about an offline backup?"

Elsa shook her head apologetically. "Several redundant online backups, but none offline. I have a service that does that for my personal files, but that wouldn't include anything business-related from within the past year."

"Okay, this is very important," Sven whispered, leaning even further in and speaking so quietly she almost missed every other word. "You mentioned you had someone working on… a backdoor. For the redhead. I don't need to know, and I don't want to know, but is it possible they could help you out with this? Dig up a discarded backup, or a previous draft of a current file that would otherwise be lost? That might be your best bet."

Yzma. "The program should be able to handle two tasks as easy as one, I suppose. I'll make the call when I get back to my office."

"Don't call from there. Do it from home - or better yet, wait until you get overseas. It'll be a lot harder for them to monitor your networks in another country."

"But my office has OLAF," she snorted. "It's secure, I've swept regularly."

"Oh really? How's that working out for you so far?" The look she shot him was so venomous that he grimaced in lieu of an apology. "Just saying."

"You're right, of course. I hate that you are, but my hate doesn't change our situation." Squaring her shoulders, she offered her hand to the sandy-haired man. "I'm indebted to you again, it seems."

Both his hand and his head shook. "Nah. You're getting a raw deal. Even if I didn't consider you a friend, I'd still want to help set this straight. They're horse-collaring you, and it's a dick move that I can't abide. You got Kristofferson on defense."

A sudden mad desire to grab him and kiss the crown of his head swept over Elsa, and though she resisted it made her grin. Without knowing the purpose behind the smile, Sven merely returned it confidently. It was nice to have such a bulwark of staunch morality in her corner.

~ o ~

"Well?"

The fatigue must have been coming off her in waves as Elsa slid into the driver's seat of her silver BMW, because Anna dropped her eyes and didn't ask anything further. With a snail's pace, they emerged from the car park beneath Sven's building, heading off to find something for a late lunch.

Then Anna flipped on the radio. A strange dithering of synthetic strings overlapped with yodeling, which made her grimace and change the station.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked.

"What's it look like? Turning on the radio. Just can't stand that 'synth-age' crap."

"My fault, I was inaccurate.  _Why_ are you doing that?"

Anna shot her an impatient look as she snapped it back off irritably. "Because you won't talk and all this quiet is driving me bonkers." They drove on in silence for a few more minutes before she prompted, "Well?"

"Well, nothing. The future doesn't look bright, but all hope is not lost. Nothing else for it right now but to accept my current fate."

"And mope like a little girl, apparently."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you are. This all sucks, but you bottling it up and not talking about it isn't going to help anything."

"Grousing about it to you isn't going to help anything, either. It's just going to depress both of us. Better I be the only one dealing with it than pull you under my dark cloud."

They drove on in silence for another few blocks. Elsa turned at a traffic light. She was halfway down the next street before Anna whispered, "So that's it."

"Pardon?"

"This is how far into your life I get to go before I'm shut out. I did wonder when things got a little intimate what kind of relationship we were going to have. Turns out, not a lot different from Hans, except maybe that you don't verbally abuse me or make me dress up in ridiculous outfits."

At that, Elsa actually turned to gape at Anna, eyes wide and hurt. "Wh… what? How can you say that? I'm not shutting you out, I'm simply-"

"You are. Not the way he did, but… you still think I can't handle the deeper level stuff, and how is that supposed to make me feel, huh?"

"It's not that way and you know as much. There just isn't any  _use_ in dumping this upon your head. I care about you too much to think you worrying needlessly is going to benefit either one of us."

"Stop the car."

It took Elsa a moment to comprehend what Anna had said. "Stop th-"

"Pull over and let me out, I'm walking."

Elsa wanted to scream. She wanted to beat her forehead against the steering wheel over and over until the ringing in her ears stopped. Instead, she guided the car into a parking spot by the side of a small grassy square, shifting the gear into "park". But as Anna reached for the door handle, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Are you sorry I'm leaving, or sorry I called you out on your bullshit?"

"Yes."

At that response, Anna groaned and sat back again. "Why do you have to be so cute when you're dejected? Totally not fair."

Elsa didn't let herself process the unexpected compliment. Anna was right, and allowing herself to feel less guilty would probably make it all too easy for her to forego explaining herself properly. "Please, I'm just so tired, and there  _are_ things that will only put you in more danger if I tell you. It's smarter for me to… to keep you safe by holding all those secrets back from your ears. I wish so badly that things weren't this way, though!"

"You know I don't believe that," she snapped, arms folded. Defensive body language; she felt threatened. That was the last thing Elsa wanted Anna to feel in her presence. "How are they even going to know that I know? And if you're worried about me mentioning it to somebody on the phone, well, you can forget it, sister. I'm like the Fort Knox of dirty secrets."

"But what if they persuade you?"

The look on her face was most certainly offended. "You really think my integrity has a price? There's not enough money in the world to buy me off! Especially not when it's you!"

"That's… not the type of persuasion I meant."

"Oh. Then w- right." Both of her jeans-coated knees pulled up to prop her feet against the seat cushion. "The picture."

Elsa nodded sadly, eyes full of sympathy. "I hope you don't think this is the first time I've had to contend with something like this. Or the second, or the third. It's not just  _my_ reputation on the line."

"So we look a little goofy in the ball pit. Maybe that doesn't project the most managerial air we could want, but it's not really a big-"

"What else do you think the picture represents, Anna? It's not just that they know we're…" Still she stumbled over the word, but now was not the time to examine such things. "It's that they followed us to take it. They are  _tracking our movements._ I want you to feel safe with me, and… the more I let you into this world, where everyone seems to be clawing at my throat, the less safe you are, and-"

"That's no way to live, though!" Anna protested. "Afraid that a bunch of grumpy old assholes are going to take a picture, or leave a bloody horse head under your blanket? Fuck that!"

Suddenly, Elsa burst out laughing. The choice of words took her by surprise. "Really, now? You'd do that with a horse's head?"

It just barely got Anna to smile, and she knew in the future they would be rolling about this exchange. In the moment, however, her fiery young lover would not be deterred. "Bump up security. Hire a bodyguard - hell, we could both take karate lessons or something! Don't let them change us!"

"Not good enough, I'm afraid. If your safety isn't one hundred per cent guaranteed, then… then I don't care, that's unacceptable. You are my priority."

"What could they possibly do to me just because I'm sort of your girlfriend? Stop spinning all these conspiracy theories!"

Elsa's throat tightened as her hands tightened on the steering wheel. She had run out of time and out of excuses. "They're not theories. I can prove it."

"Oh, really?" Anna barked, rolling her eyes. "What, is one of your suit buttons really a microphone, do you have a recording of Weselton cackling in his secret laboratory?"

"Nothing so fun and nineteen-sixties. Buckle up again, please."

It hurt both of them that Elsa had to add the little "please". That Anna's need to escape the car moments ago had been so great that Elsa didn't want to imply that she had no choice in the matter. They both waited a long moment, Elsa defeatedly, Anna defiantly. Cars whooshed by on one side of them. A bicycle drifted past on the other.

"Elsa… are you crying?"

She was, and she hadn't even felt it begin. When Anna's hand reached for her, she hurriedly said, "It's only a thirty minute roundtrip; our lunch won't be but an hour or so late. Or go on back to the apartment. Your choice."

Instead of speaking, Anna pulled the belt free, holding it halfway between the door and the buckle, staring down at the little metal tongue. She spared Elsa one last glance of contemplation before she slowly brought it in and fastened it with a  _click._

"Where…?"

"All in good time."

~ o ~

The cold and sterile scent of cleaning products assaulted the insides of Elsa and Anna's noses as they waited in the corridor, staring in at the patients through the thick-paned glass window. Speakers overhead called for a visitor to report to an examination room to meet with a physician. Orderlies and other personnel moved back and forth behind them at varied paces.

"So," Anna asked in a hushed tone. "What's… who are we waiting for?"

"Shouldn't be long now," Elsa assured her, cradling the small cup of noncaf coffee in her palms as if it were the last bastion of hope before her life fell apart again. "They said she was merely resting."

"Who is she? Who are we here to see?"

"It's… ah, there she is now."

Anna followed Elsa's sober line of sight to see a tall male nurse pushing a wheelchair into the cheery, skylit room. In it was slumped an emaciated woman in her mid-twenties with a long, vibrant mane of crimson that looked like it had been immaculately groomed a few hours ago. Now, however, it was slightly matted and tangled. The glassy stare, slight rocking to and fro, and mismatched purple blouse and green skirt only added to her disheveled appearance. They both watched as the nurse stopped and spoke to her, but she gave no indication that she heard. Then he was thumbing a couple of buttons that locked the wheels in place so she wouldn't roll away.

"Global aphasia," Elsa began without waiting for Anna's questions. The hollow quality in her voice was so unguarded that nearly every other word made the younger woman flinch. "The TBI also manifests as a sort of autism. They've made remarkable progress with her, hard as it is to believe; top specialists have her doing a variety of exercises, taking supplements. The paraplegia, however… that's never going away no matter what they do."

Both pairs of eyes went to the patient's legs, which had even less muscle definition. By comparison, the rest of her body was almost healthy.

"She looks so lost," Anna breathed, her fingertips pressing against the glass absentmindedly. "Like… she doesn't even know where she is, or what she's doing here."

"They say she does, though. Some of it. Not that we'll know for certain in the near future." She took a deep, steadying breath. "Well, then. Would you like to say 'hello'?"

"What?" Anna squeaked, spinning to gape at Elsa. "Oh, but I- but why would I? She never knew me, and is meeting new people even okay for her? I don't want to be a-"

The small smile on Elsa's face was one carved from chilled marble. "She likely won't even know you're there. And if she does, she'll be glad of company. I'm afraid her remaining family won't visit. A few of her sisters drop by now and again, but the rest… anyway. You don't have to, you can wait here if you'd rather."

Anna shook her head. "No, I'll come if you're sure she won't mind."

Nodding, Elsa took her gently around the corner to the door and through. The wheelchair-bound patient didn't look up, didn't notice them; her look was as blank as it had been the entire while. Elsa didn't wait for introductions, but immediately sat directly across from her and gestured for Anna to take the neighbouring chair.

"Hello, my little pearl."

There was a very specific cadence and weight to those words, and as Elsa spoke them, a change came over the woman's face. It wasn't spectacular, just a focusing within the eyes, some blinking, and the lips twitching as her head moved slightly, as if she were actually hearing the sound from down a long hallway and were trying to locate its source.

"We've got a new friend today," she went on, voice slightly hushed and sweet but not as if talking down to a small child. "This is Anna."

The woman's eyes closed, listening. Her head swayed, then pointed up as if sniffing the air. She was staring directly between them and slightly over their heads now.

"Anna, this is Ariel, my little pearl."

Taking her cue from Elsa's tiny nod, Anna cleared her throat and said, "H-hello, Ariel. I'm Anna… and I'm a new friend." When she checked Elsa for confirmation that she wasn't screwing this up, Elsa nodded at her reassuringly. "It's nice to meet you."

Elsa had been right; it looked like Ariel was listening, but she wasn't able to respond. She simply rocked slightly and worked her mouth back and forth.

"I've brought you a treat!" she whispered as she dug into the pocket of her slacks for her keys. Anna watched in wonderment as she unlatched a tiny box that always dangled from them. It looked decorative, like the tiny treasure chests that sat at the bottom of aquariums - but now it was actually opening, and apparently contained a small ring. A simple silver band but with intricate designs. "Here, love, let's put it on you."

As the ring went onto Ariel's finger, Anna let out a soft sound of surprise; every finger had a ring on it, and some of them two or three. This made the second ring on her right index finger. Even the thumbs had larger rings on them.

"Let's check the others." One by one, she tugged on the rest of the rings. Most of them were fine, but one of them on her left middle finger came loose quite easily, nearly falling free. "Ah, I thought we might have a runner!"

That sparked a reaction. Ariel rocked slightly faster, shaking her head back and forth, clearly distressed. Elsa quickly tucked the ring into the velvety innards of the box and latched it, dropping her keys into her pocket. Then she took both sides of Ariel's face in her splayed hands.

"Shhh, it's alright, little pearl! It will be back soon. Shhh, it's okay, shhh…"

After another moment, Ariel calmed, her breathing evening out. Then her mouth dropped open and she made a mewling sound as her eyes swept up to meet Elsa's, lip twitching back and forth.

"Hmm? Are we having a strong day?"

"Eha," she verbalised with obvious difficulty. "M-me…"

"Yes," Elsa nodded as if she knew what she was saying - because, as it turned out, she did. "I love you, too, my pearl. Always."

At that, Ariel's face relaxed. She did not truly smile, but there was a serenity there that was different from the vacancy from before they had entered the room. When Elsa's lips rose up to press against her forehead… only then did one corner of her mouth twitch upward for a half-second. In that half-second, her striking beauty was impossible to miss.

Twenty or more minutes slipped by as Elsa talked to Ariel, who listened with varying degrees of interest that were only substantial in comparison with each other. Once, when Elsa asked about Ariel's mother, she began shivering all over and making a sound that sounded like coughing that brought the nurse over to check on her. When he asked if she wanted to be taken back to her room, Ariel grasped in Elsa's direction until she caught on the edge of her skirt and then held on for dear life. The meaning was impossible to misinterpret.

There was a sadness to her eyes when their allotted time was at an end. Unsure of what else to do, Anna leaned in and hugged Ariel as if she were made of glass. There was no movement from Ariel until she pulled away, at which point her weak grip held her fast. Both visitors were startled by the intensity in her eyes as she gazed up at Anna.

"What?" Anna asked carefully. "What is it?"

"Eha."

"Elsa?" A fluttering of eyelashes. "What about Elsa?"

Ariel's gaze fell for a moment in confusion, though she did not let go. Then it raised again. "Eha… m-me… ffah… she-you, I…" Tears of frustration came to her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Anna whispered in alarm. "I'm n-not really- I don't…"

"She's important to me, Ariel," Elsa told her, leaning in closer so she could close one hand over each girl's shoulder. "She's my new friend. Please don't be sad."

"Nnnn," Ariel went on, eyebrows knitted. "M-me…" She took several breaths, nodding, then looked at Elsa again. "Sssaaaffe."

That word was clear as a bell, despite how slurred. "Everyone is safe," Elsa soothed her, hand coming up to smooth over her hair. "It's alright, don't worry about anyone but yoursel-"

"Ariel," Anna said clearly, and her eyes slowly came back to meet the younger woman's gaze. "I will, I promise. Promise," she repeated for good measure.

Tears leaked down Ariel's face as she nodded, the movement jerky but deliberate. Then she slumped backward, exhausted.

"I'm afraid that's it," the nurse told them gently. "This is more than I've heard her push herself in weeks. She needs rest now."

"I'll come again soon, my pearl," Elsa whispered as she kissed her on the cheek. "Bye bye."

They both stood back and watched as Ariel was wheeled out of the room, all but unconscious after such a taxing ordeal. Then, at a loss for what else to do, they retrieved Elsa's coffee and exited the small lounge.

"Oh, God," Anna whispered.

"You never really get used to it," Elsa affirmed as they walked. "But the shock wears off somewhat after the first few visits."

"What the hell happened? Or was she…"

"Always this way?" she guessed. "No, of course not. She was once as whole and unimpaired as you and I. W-wonderfully so."

"So you and her were…" A long silence passed as they reached the elevators and rode them down to the parking level. Anna did not push for confirmation. "What happened? Can you talk about it?"

"What happened to her was me. I happened. My life happened to her."

"I don't understand," Anna said as they got into the car. As Elsa made to start it, Anna stayed her hand. "Wait. You don't have to drive while talking about this; I could drive if you w-"

"No, I need to. I can't just sit right now, I need to move, I need to  _do_ something." Relenting, Anna dropped her hand. They were soon on the motorways again.

"She's beautiful, you know."

Elsa sighed, making a less-than-graceful turn. "Don't patronise me, or her. She looks like a shattered husk of a person."

"No," Anna whispered. "She… I'm serious, she's so pretty. And I don't just mean 'for an inpatient' or whatever, honest."

"This isn't right. You shouldn't feel obligated to flatter me about my… about her, knowing what she was to me once. Don't you see how bizarre it is?"

"It's not flattery if it's true! And I can't imagine holding who she is against either of you, not when… when things turned out the way they did. Anybody who would has got to be some kind of horrible bitchmonster." A strained moment had begun to grow stale before she tried again. "How long have you, um, been together?"

"We aren't."

Anna blinked, confused. "Oh. But the way you are with her-"

"I still care very, very deeply for her, but… no, we were no longer together when…"

"Please," Anna started telling her urgently, hand drifting over to squeeze her knee to better convey the urgency of her words. "Okay, I get it now; there's a whole history here that I wasn't really understanding, and it's kind of big and hard to talk about. You don't have to dig up all the pain right now if you don't want to, I'm so sorry I've been pushing f-"

"Wrong," Elsa hissed. "I mean… if I don't now, I'm not sure I'll be able to do it again. Better all at once." Clearing her throat, she began, "Just don't interrupt unless it's entirely necessary.

"It was four years ago. At one point, Ariel and I had been so happy. The way I conducted business - and our relationship - wore on her. She was an out-and-proud bisexual and had no problem with anyone knowing. Me, on the other hand… I was still so far back in the closet that I couldn't see the doors anymore. As you know, I haven't budged a great deal since. We loved each other and always will, but she grew frustrated with me for refusing to acknowledge it to my colleagues and the world at large. Even just telling our respective families was an unmitigated disaster; most of hers had already disowned her anyway, but her few sisters who still speak with her just regarded me as 'the reason Ariel can't come to family picnics anymore'. She wanted to trumpet the news to the heavens and let the chips fall where they may. I wanted to prevent any further damage. Therefore, one day we both looked up and realised that, although we would always have a deep and abiding affection for one another, it wouldn't be as monogamous, exclusive life partners. And that was that.

"We remained close friends, despite the lingering tension. And… my competitors knew that. Unfortunately, around that time one of my fiercest opponents had… mob connections."

"No," Anna breathed, swallowing hard. "Y-you don't mean…"

"Not exactly," Elsa told her with a rueful smile. It was so full of poison that Anna looked away out the window as they neared the North Mountain building. "No, I wouldn't put it past them, but the mob doesn't really do business like that anymore. What they did was break into her car and leave… let's just say it was a sheaf of photos she had allowed to be taken in her late teens that would have made a laughingstock out of her.

"She reacted badly. Can't blame her much; I would have, too. In fact, she stumbled back out of her car and began calling me, presumably to ask if I knew anything about it. But when I tried to answer, I was told the call had been lost. Everything lost..."

Elsa didn't continue. At length, they coasted into her parking space. The car was shut off. Nothing happened for many minutes.

"Elsa…"

"I still hate him," she whispered back fiercely. "Even though it was Ariel's fault for not looking before she opened the door and walked out into the street… I still want to strangle the man in the truck with my bare hands. Every time I think about it, the anger is fresh as if it happened yesterday."

When Anna's hands came up to rest on either side of Elsa's neck, she clasped the wrists so tightly for a moment that she trembled all over before her grip relaxed and she whimpered, leaning against the headrest.

"I'm so sorry," Anna began, eyes horrified. "It doesn't even begin to- oh God, Elsa, I'm sorry."

"Can't you see that it's my fault?" she sobbed, eyes staring out the window. "If I hadn't been so wishy-washy, or if I just conducted my business a little differently, or… any number of things, who's to say she wouldn't still be among the living? Or if I'd at least known myself well enough to never drag her into my world to begin with!"

"No, that's not fair to y-"

"And this is what you want to be let in on!" she half-shouted. "B-being targeted for every dirty dealing, opening yourself up t-to… to being run down in the street like a hapless deer! I won't stand for it, I won't let the same thing happen to you, I never will!"

"You never will!" Anna affirmed strongly. "And neither will I, we'll be careful!"

"Careful isn't good enough! I have to be  _certain_ you can't be hurt! It's no good if I tell you all my secrets and give you every last ounce of my heart if you wind up dead at the end of things!"

"Hey, Ariel isn't dead! She's just fine, she… well, she's not what she once was, but please, don't act as if you're the one responsible! She made choices, too, and so did those bastards who tried to intimidate her! You are not the only one who can control fate!"

Elsa shivered from head to toe, hands stroking along Anna's arms. "Oh, how I want to believe that. And part of me does, I know I can't control everything, and I shouldn't be able to, anyway. No one should. Can… please tell me at least now you understand why I wasn't sure I should let you in, why all of this happening again is frightening me so badly!"

"You said it yourself," Anna soothed as she drew Elsa in for a gentle embrace that left the elder woman hiccuping with sobs. "It was an accident; she got out of the car at the wrong time. I'll be just as careful as I always am - even moreso now! Don't take all the blame."

"I'm so sorry!" Elsa whispered into Anna's shoulder, and Anna merely rubbed her back and shushed her as she repeated those three words over and over.

~ o ~

An hour later, up in the penthouse, Elsa dragged Anna down the hallway toward Anna's room. She was all set to enter it when the CEO pushed the other door open - and not without some resistance.

"Haven't been in here in a year or more," Elsa told her softly as she groped in the gathering darkness for the switch. "But there shouldn't be any… ah."

Anna was dazzled by the cheery yellow-hued lighting that illuminated not a bedroom as she had supposed, but an art room. There were a dozen canvases stacked against the walls, an easel, a pottery wheel with two stools, and even a table with a bowl of waxed fruit. Along each wall, set rather high, were shelves that held all manner of oddments and knick-knacks, some expensive, some seemingly worthless. Anna could swear one of them was an ancient Pez dispenser.

"This was hers."

Elsa nodded distantly. "All hers. I'd poke about in here now and again, but just to see what she was up to. And then, in the years since the accident… just to… I don't know."

"Visit how she was."

"That's exactly it," Elsa answered with a weak smile. "Remember who she was when we were in love. You're so perceptive sometimes."

"Um… do you want me to step aside?"

The platinum blonde whirled. "Why on earth would I want that?"

"Listen," Anna said as she fidgeted, clearly grappling with issues much larger than she was used to hefting, "you and she… have unfinished business. Maybe you weren't together, but you love each other a lot. I can respect that."

"Our love changed," Elsa told Anna firmly. "You're right, it's still there, but it's more familial than romantic. It would be even if she weren't… how she is now. That had been established months before the accident."

"I know you say that, but…"

"Besides," Elsa said with a knowing smirk. "You promised you'd protect me."

At that, Anna shrugged shyly. "So I didn't hear that wrong. Do you… I mean, can she understand what I am to you now? That I'm not just a work buddy?"

"I hate to break it to you, but she and I had quite a lot of non-working relations once upon a time," Elsa chuckled, a hand drifting over the timbers of the easel. "I'm sure she could infer what I meant when I introduced you. And she did meet one of my other dates, once upon a time."

"Really?"

A light shrug. "Neither of us liked her much, but yes. Even though that was a long time ago, I'm sure she's come to terms with the concept."

"Elsa… have you not been on a date since Ariel ended up in the hospital?" The lack of response was louder than any response could have been. "Wow…"

"As if it's that easy, getting back out there. I hardly ever dated much  _before_ , so why would this improve matters much?"

"Listen…"

Both of them wound up standing next to the pottery wheel as Anna took Elsa's hands and held them close to her chest. Elsa nodded as she quietly stated, "You need time to think."

"No. But you do. There's… I mean, a lot is going through your brain, and I feel like my being here is just muddying you up. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna sleep in my office tonight."

"Oh, no," Elsa said immediately. "You have a perfectly good room, it won't-"

"No, I insist," Anna said, licking her lips quickly. "But my wristphone will stay on all the time. The moment you really don't need your space and want some cuddles, day or night, I'll be here in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise you'll call?" Elsa nodded, but Anna asked again. "Promise-promise?"

"Yes, alright," she half-snorted. "Just to shut you up badgering me."

"And, um, do whatever you need to do with that ring. Anything I can do to help?"

At that, Elsa let go of Anna's hands and began to recede from the room. "I have a jeweller I typically use for resizing. Erhm… I think I've had my fill of Ariel's old studio. Too many memories."

Anna was a step slower to follow, obviously full to bursting with thoughts. "Of course."

"Can we… stay in for lunch? Or order in, or something?"

"Yes." Anna drew Elsa in for another hug. "Nobody's saying you should jump right back into things; it's been a rough few days for both of us. And you'll be…"

Their eyes met briefly before dropping away again. No discussion of her newest job title had taken place yet. It was as if they had a tacit agreement not to speak of such things until other matters had been settled.

"Promise  _you_ will go into the office tomorrow, though," Elsa told her firmly, thumb and forefinger drawing her small chin up to give her a hard stare. "I'm so grateful for you taking today off, you have no idea, but your workers need you now more than ever."

Anna frowned sympathetically, stepping closer. "You need me the most."

Their tender kiss lasted about thirty minutes longer than they had been planning.

~ o ~

As Elsa walked into the kitchen to throw away the sliver of strawberry, she turned all of that over in her mind. Yes, she could probably call Anna to drive her to the airport. Yes, she owed it to Anna not to call her at all. Anyway, what desperate thing might Anna do if she saw her off? Refuse to let her board the plane? Threaten to tag along?

She had no right to drag such a vibrant and capable woman across the Atlantic Ocean. In her present state, a tearful airport goodbye would likely reduce her to a puddle of goo incapable of movement. Therefore, it would be easier to simply go and call once she'd arrived.

Changing her mind at the last moment, Elsa popped the strawberry piece into her mouth. It had clearly soured from exposure to the air. She swallowed the bitterness all the way down.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	13. Travel Expenses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a lot is about to happen in this story. I'm sure some of you realised that chapter 11 and 12 are a big turning point for various reasons. Now we're about to learn yet more about Elsa Froiland and what makes her tick that has been brewing under the surface ever since I started writing this fanfic. Hope you're prepared… but for all of you who thrive on the Elsanna, there's definitely a lack of Anna in this chapter. It was necessary. Sorry!
> 
> Also, sorry if all the Norwegian I'm using is getting kind of… eh. I'm doing my best to double-check myself, but obviously I'm not a native speaker! Please send me a PM with any corrections and I'll edit them into the chapter!
> 
> BY THE WAY, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my good friend Hellyeahpuckentine, whose 927th birthday is today, as well as to the memory of Robin Williams.
> 
> Jessex

Every nerve ending in Elsa Froiland's body felt alive with electricity as the transatlantic flight began to dip down toward the dawn-soaked streets of Oslo. The perfection of microfuel cells and solar energy had counter-balanced the huge delay due to a storm front, but the downside was that she could no longer enjoy the luxury of a stopover in London or Brussels. Then again, this wasn't a pleasure cruise.

Her nerves began to rattle louder as she stood by the baggage claim, and intensified once she retrieved her trunk and suitcase. A seizure of some sort felt imminent by the time she found herself at the kerb outside.

A sign for "Froiland" drew her attention to a limousine, which was being piloted by an unfamiliar driver with a square jaw and an impassive expression. Settling in the back, she found herself unsurprised that no one was there to greet her. Of course not; that was not how things were done in the Froiland home. No warm receptions, no quick jaunts for coffee on the way home from the airport. Hired men would acquire her and deposit her at the destination.

Desperate, she flipped open the panel that concealed the small wetbar. It had been recently restocked. "Thank Heaven," she muttered as she popped open a forty-year-old scotch and swilled it as if it were tap water, feeling it burn the whole way down. She hadn't touched a drop on the plane, but now she wanted nothing more than to drain the entire bottle.

But no. A stiff belt to steel her nerves was all she needed; any more and she would end up slurring and tripping all over herself eventually. That would be a disastrous reunion, to be sure. Taking another smaller, more contemplative sip, she replaced the stopper and tucked it away.

Within the hour, the sleek black machine was nearing the gates of the Froiland estate. Sensing the device clipped to the visor, they swung wide to admit them, and slowly it rounded the enormous fountain and pulled up before the steps leading to the largely ornamental porch. It had been retouched and repainted, and one of the statues was new. Her stomach churned at the prominent and exaggerated male organ it displayed. Was that truly necessary?

When the chauffeur opened the door and she stepped free, a figure with flowing white hair and an equally-flowing lilac gown swept from the house and drew her into a crushing embrace before a single word had been exchanged.

"Elsa, my dear, come here! Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

"Apparently!" Elsa couldn't help but laugh. "Goodness, Mother, but you're... buoyant today!"

"I am, a bit," she admitted into Elsa's shoulder. "You wouldn't believe these new pills they have me on - I feel like I'm dancing on rainbows! How was your flight?"

"Fair; a bit of turbulence over Ireland, but the stabilisers take care of that these days."

"Of course, of course. No, no, Finn will get your bags. Come in, dear, please! I want to hear all about these bollocks-for-brains finks who think they can keep a Froiland down!"

"Mother!" she gasped, scandalised. But Mrs Froiland simply laughed.

Once through the foyeur and into the drawing room, they perched on the settee - Elsa noticed it had been reupholstered, and the Oriental rug replaced - and waited for Birgit, one of the maids who was still on staff from her last visit, to bring tea and cakes. Slowly, they grew accustomed to speaking to one another again after observing radio silence for such a long while. The topics drifted between her flight and work, which Elsa would rather have avoided but knew it couldn't be so, what with it being the reason for her return to her homeland.

" _Kjære vene!"_  Elsa's mother sighed, her overall mood still chipper. "How do you get yourselves into these pickles? I told you to bring a Norsk with you when you emigrated to do your books. We watch after our own, you know; he couldn't have been bought."

"Yes, I know," Elsa sighed wearily. "It just didn't seem prudent to uproot one of our employees here when perfectly accomplished Americans can do the same job without-"

Harsh laughter interrupted. "Apparently, they can't! Look where you are!" Shaking her head, her expression softened. "I'm sorry, you're right. And my guess is you have something in the pipeline to deal with this little setback, if I know my daughter."

"Of course." Elsa set her teacup and saucer on the nearby table and folded her hands in her lap. "If you wouldn't be opposed, I should like one of the guest rooms for a few days while I seek out a flat. Yes, it might be uncomfortable given… the terms on which we last parted company, so if it's not-"

"Don't be stupid,  _min Elsa._ You'll stay with us as long as you're here." Her gleaming blue eyes darkened a shade as she asked, "About our last parting, however. Can I assume that phase in your life has passed?"

"It hasn't," Elsa said firmly. Part of her wanted to pretend it had, to offer a small lie in order to smooth over old conflicts. Unfortunately, that came at too high a price. Bending to the expectations of others was a pattern she couldn't allow herself to slip into, or else it would likely never end. "And I do wish you wouldn't call my true nature a 'phase'. You of all people know  _intimately_ that there are factors that can't be explained away so easily."

The elder woman's lined face seemed to sag for an instant, but it wasn't long before she shrugged slightly and chirruped, "No matter. I blame myself; the poor, idealistic decisions of youth. But right now… oh, I'm just glad to have you home again."

The mood had been dampened but not ruined entirely, and Elsa felt a small pinprick of warmth entering her heart. No shouting, no irrational proclamations, no casual dismissals. These were great strides for the Froilands.

~ o ~

The morning passed amiably as mother and daughter caught up with one another, going over the state of their respective countries, wardrobe choices, current events. Apparently, her mother had taken up pilates, and demonstrated a few exercises that left Elsa trying her damndest not to laugh aloud at the absurd positions in which it forced the forty-something matriarch.

At length, Elsa retired to the guest room they had prepared for any and all occasions and took a brief catnap to offset her considerable jetlag; seven hours' difference and fitful sleeping on the plane was no laughing matter. The chilly sheets and stiff mattress were less than inviting, but there was a certain warmth to the decor, and the light glow from the drapery at the window eventually lulled her away from the waking world.

A gentle tapping at the door drew her attention just after she had sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Come in."

"Oh, this isn't you at all, is it? Usually up at the crack of dawn!"

Elsa's cheeks bunched up to see the frumpy old woman framed by the doorway, and she hurriedly slipped from her bed and crossed to meet her just inside the doorway. "Martha, oh, you old dear! It's been ages!"

"Not  _that_ long!" Martha chortled as the younger woman attempted to squeeze every drop of air from her lungs. "Was hoping you'd still call me 'Nanny', but I suppose those days are long past, aren't they?"

"Goodness, I was wondering if they'd keep you on now I'm grown! Oh, what have you been doing with yourself lately?"

"Much of what I was doing before you left, Young Miss; looking after the dogs and tending your old room." Then she pushed Elsa back at arm's length to look her former charge up and down, wrinkles bunching at the corners of her eyes from smiling. "Goodness, but time's been kind; you only look a year or two older, and how many has it been?"

"Goodness, at least six," she reflected wistfully, hand pressing into Martha's neck. "I've missed you. Far more than I've missed them, I'm certain."

Her mouth pursed for an instant. "Oh, don't be too hard on your old mum. She only wants what's best for you, even if she can't quite grasp what that might be."

Elsa bent at the waist and dropped her voice. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose you've heard from… Henrike?"

At that question, Martha swatted her arm and tittered. "Now, you know they'd have both our heads if they even caught us  _talking_ about that strumpet! God Above, I don't know how you thought you might get away with anything right under our noses!"

"I  _didn't_ think about it," Elsa replied easily as she moved to her trunk, idly selecting one of her less formal suits as they spoke. "My hormones did all the thinking for me. Well, those shapely calves in such sheer stockings didn't hurt…"

"You were such a little minx!" After they shared a laugh, Martha answered, "No, haven't heard from her for a few years. She did write to let me know she'd got settled in at another job, and for you not to worry. Came just after you left."

There was the small white lie they used: "you left". That's how everyone was choosing to see it, to prevent the reopening of old wounds. Elsa took a quick little breath to help prevent her smile from falling away completely, instead hitching it right back into place. "If you still have that letter, I wouldn't mind reading it. Reminiscing a bit."

"Might do," she replied thoughtfully. "Or did I put it in your room? No, I wouldn't have done; your mum goes in there now and again to wallow. I'll have a look through my things."

"Alright, thanks." As Elsa slipped into a dressing gown, she tucked the information away that her mother occasionally wallowed. Given the lack of contact from this side of the ocean, she had assumed they didn't even give her a second thought between the falling out and the day previous, in which she had called to inform them she would soon be in the area. Interesting. "So, have you come up here to inform me that Her Royal Oldness awaits my company on the veranda?"

"She does," Martha said with exaggerated decorum. "And she steadily grows older, so please join her in a timely manner. I take it you'll be washing up?"

"I will. The bath is already stocked?" Martha nodded, and Elsa nodded back, smiling. "Then I'll be down in about thirty minutes. Tell her not to expire in the meantime."

Pinching Elsa's cheek so briefly that Elsa didn't even have time to be annoyed, Martha turned and waddled out. "Of course, Mistress."

Bathed and half-clothed, Elsa took a quick moment to patch through into the local network and give Yzma a quick anonymous call. Of course, going this route she had to ring the front desk and wade up through the other departments, but it was less likely to be tracked than if she used her own wristphone.

"What's this?" Yzma cooed as she swiveled around to face the holographic projection. "Bumbling around in the directory like a telemarketer? Are you on crack?"

"Believe me, I feel as if I could use some these days," Elsa sighed, passing a hand over her freshly-scrubbed face. "How've you been, old friend?"

"My bones ache and my bunions are worse than ever, and that's not to mention this cyst I'm developing between my-"

"Details are not necessary!"

Grinning darkly at Elsa's evident distress, Yzma balanced her chin upon folded hands and fluttered her eyelashes. "You'll be here one day yourself, cookie. Don't forget that. Anyway, if you don't want to hear about my ailing health, to what do I owe this honour?"

"Well, a status report for one," Elsa grunted, clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "And another favour."

"Now, hold on," Yzma snapped, eyes narrowing. "The first one isn't a 'favour', either; it's a job. Which comes with payment."

"Which you will get, yes; including a possible bonus for… extending the parameters of the original job a bit more."

"Ah." At that, Yzma sat back and raised an espresso cup to her lips, sipped gently, then set it down at her elbow once more. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the source of this call being Norway, would it?"

That nearly deflated her all over again. "What have you heard?"

"Very little. Just that you got checkmated out of your chair. Feel free to share details with me or don't, it's your business. Rotten luck, though."

"It's not luck," Elsa seethed, twisting the cloned-leather belt she had been intending to thread around her waist. "It's sabotage. You and I both know they shouldn't have been able to pull this one over on me, not all in one move."

"You wanted to hire that hotshot lawyer, Jafar, ducky; I knew he was a dirtbag. And now look where you are."

"Yzma! I need solutions, not I-told-you-sos!"

"Can't I offer both?" The wrinkled old lip curled upward slightly into a sneering smile. "Tried to teach you how to clean up after your own messes, and you never wanted to learn this side of it. Then again, your managerial aptitude was always higher. Delegation will only get you so f-"

"I'm not still your pupil," Elsa grunted, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And I  _do_ normally have someone on staff whom I might ask to look into this. Problem is…"

"Right now, you don't trust your own staff. I know, I know." Yzma sighed. "Sorry, poppet. What else were you hoping our little devil can accomplish?"

The two of them spent the better part of five minutes going over the specifics of the program in development and its new task. Quite a lot of that time was spent arguing, but not all. Then Yzma asked how things were shaping up in Bygdøy so far.

"How well do you think?"

Yzma shrugged lightly. "Never did understand what you see in other women, anyway; we're all bitches who are constantly at each other's throats. Men are such… simple creatures, easier to manipulate to one's will."

"That's just it, old friend," Elsa laughed harshly. "I don't want a pet; I want a partner."

"Yes, as you've told me. Either way, you know I'm in your corner on that bullet point; Mummy and Daddy need to get with the millenium or they're going to lose you one day."

"True enough."

"Chin up, alright? It's temporary. You'll be back in your penthouse soon enough - and I'll crack the whip above my team's heads to get this one done." A wizened holographic hand reached out for a moment, then drew back when its owner remembered there would be no comforting shoulder-pats via video call. "If only it weren't such secretive work, I'd have my entire company's assets to our advantage; instead, just this handpicked few. But they'll get it done. It would have been done weeks ago if they didn't have to juggle the usual projects, maintain our alibis."

"Yes, of course; I'd never want you to put them in jeopardy of any kind. The government's stance on cybercrime is at its most tight-fisted presently."

"You got that right." She sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "Well, I have an appointment waiting out in the hall for me, and it's not going to meet itself. Call again soon, though, I'll try to keep you updated."

"Afternoon, Yzma."

"Eh."

~ o ~

The instant Elsa arrived downstairs, she was whisked off into the limo, where her mother informed her that they would be dining at an exclusive restaurant a few minutes' drive away. Elsa would rather they not go to so much fuss and have a simple repast at home, but little else could be done now that they already had reservations.

The afternoon passed with relative ease as they ate and drank and reminisced. Her mother grimaced in annoyance when Elsa asked if their  _kjøttboller_ were made with beef only or with added pork, but the ensuing argument she had been prepared to endure never came. Who was this woman, and what had she done with the Froiland matriarch of old?

Following the restaurant, they meandered up and down the streets, pointing out familiar sights and comparing memories to how the peninsula had changed since Elsa was last there. Shopping was done, a few small souvenirs bought on whims. Elsa also procured a lovely pair of overlarge sunglasses, which her mother laughed at her for but also said they gave her a Jackie O mystique. Then they wended their way home.

For the first time in years, Elsa simply relaxed in front of the television once up in her guest room; they had screens in every room now, which did not surprise her in the least. Any opportunity they had to throw around their wealth was usually seized upon with relish.

She had spent nearly five minutes watching a programme before she realised it was "True Stories of Tennis Stars".

With a heavy heart, she gritted her teeth as she thumbed her wristphone to life and waited for it to total up her unread messages. There were seven. One of them was a simple farewell from Sven, and another the response from her mother that was now moot because they had spoken in person. All the rest of them were from Anna.

For a long moment, she considered simply flicking the screen back to opaque again and pretending she hadn't noticed. Then again…

 _You only left her with a hasty text from the airport,_ Elsa admonished herself.  _It was probably so badly worded that she needed a translation from gibberish before she knew what you were trying to tell her. The least you can do is read her responses._

Even with this verbal reaming, she still was unsure. At length, of course, she began opening them in chronological order.

_"Wait, what do you mean you're getting on a plane in a few minutes?! Weren't you supposed to call me if you got too lonely or upset?"_

Second:  _"Elsa, this isn't funny. I know you had to go back home anyway but I can't believe you'd be this much of a coward that you won't even let me see you off, even though we had a weird day. I deserve better than for you to disappear on me."_

Third:  _"Okay, I reread your message and I get what you mean about Snowman Home Robotics and me not leaving it unguarded right now. But you're more important than my business. I wouldn't say that about many people either. Just please, at least reply to one of these so I know you're okay."_

Fourth:  _"Why do you always do this? Why do you have to be in control, to bury your real feelings and do what you think is right without discussing it with anybody? Do I have to threaten to walk home every time I want an open and honest conversation? I'm going crazy over here, still thinking about you and Ariel, and how much I'm starting to fall for you, and then-"_

Elsa looked away from the screen, her heart tightening far worse than it had been a moment previously. Falling for her? Yes, it seemed that's how things were progressing, and they were already romantically entangled to a certain extent. But that was far and away from falling in love. Was she ready to get this close to someone again?

Forcing her eyes back to the tiny screen, she read on.

" _-and then you drop off the face of North America! Dick move, Froiland! You're better than this bullshit and I expect you to show me that much!"_

The last one, as it turned out, wasn't just a text. It was a video message from a missed call. Already regretting her action before it was made, Elsa played it.

"Hey," said the holographic portrayal of the doe-eyed young executive. The projection was just high enough quality that she could easily tell Anna had been crying, and her chest cavity went yet colder. "I, um… I feel really bad for reaming you out in all those texts. I'm still mad at you for running away like you did, but part of me finally realised you're just… that life's kind of giving you the finger lately, and you're not in the best place to deal with me and my shit."

"No," Elsa whispered to the empty room. "It's not you."

"So hopefully, I can forgive you for hopping a plane without saying goodbye, and you can forgive me for sending all those texts. Even stevens. I'll be here when you get back. And I… well, if you need to talk, want to talk, want to just say 'hi', I'm here. Okay, bye."

The guilt was complete and oppressive. Though her intentions were good, Elsa did wrong thing. Again. This had seemed like an easier, more clean solution to the problem of their strained relationship and her lack of option in travelling to Norway in the first place. Instead, she now realised that the painful conversation they might have had in the airport would have been ten times easier than the one they would have to have after what she had done.

Before she panicked and chickened out, she activated the light-keyboard and started typing.

_"Am safe in Bygdøy. Please give me a day or two to sort out my lodging and things, and also my own head. I've been a prat. Please don't think I don't care about you-"_

She hesitated. Was that last part too far? Deleting that sentence, she started again.

_"Please don't think this means we're no longer friends, or however one might define what we are to each other. I just wasn't sure I could leave if you were with me at the airport. I am a coward, you're right. You're right about everything. I'm so sorry."_

How could she send something that awful? The entire thing looked ugly to her, disgusting. But it was all true, and she deserved to have someone read that ugliness, to have it confirmed in their mind that Elsa Froiland was a terrible person. Therefore, she hit "send" and thumbed the wristphone's usual opacity back into place, sealing her fate.

Which is when she heard a distant  _slam_. It sounded like the closing of a car door. He was home.

Suddenly, Elsa's throat went dry and her bones felt like they were knitting together, posture straightening, muscles tensing. He wasn't even inside the house yet and already she wanted to flee in terror. Alas, there could be no avoiding the moment, and getting it out of the way as early as possible was probably wiser.

"Poised and refined," she recited as she paced toward the door. "Presentable, gracious, quiet. Be the good girl you always have to be. Confident, yet demure. A Froiland."

But she refused to kowtow and curtsy as they had once demanded. No, she would comport herself with grace, but she would still stand tall and proud. She didn't care who he was to other people; to her, he was simply her father and the man who had been less than fatherly to her in their most recent encounter. Therefore, she would proceed as if he were any other hostile colleague or contact.

 _I… am still CEO of North Mountain,_  she went on, turning her voice inward as she descended the staircase into the entrance hall.  _That demands a certain level of respect, no matter who has been tinkering with my contracts._

Her limbs were tingling when the doors swung open.

A tall man in an immaculately-tailored dark blue suit strode inside as Birgit sped in from a neighbouring room to take his long overcoat. The blonde hair was perfectly coiffed as per usual, trailing down the sides of his face and curving up and under his prominent nose in a handlebar fashion, neatly trimmed, far and away from bushy. Once he had draped the coat over the maid's arm and she had stepped back, he turned to notice her at last - though he had likely caught sight of her long before. One of his many tactics to wrong-foot his political opponents: make them feel as if he is the only person of significance in the room.

"Ah, so it's true; the lame duck has come home to roost."

"Statsråd Froiland, Sir," she replied crisply, bowing ever so slightly in his direction. "How is our King Sverre keeping these days?"

"Well enough, well enough." He took a step forward, flat hazel eyes staring down at her, mostly with curiosity rather than anger or love. "Aren't you going to ask how I'm keeping?"

"Obviously well, or I'd be asking beside your sickbed, Sir."

They continued to glare at each other for a long and uncomfortable moment. Then he snapped, "That will be all, Birgit."

 _"Ja, min herre."_  And out she went.

Then he stepped closer. Tugged at her collar carelessly, sniffed. "You still want to be regarded as a man, do you?"

"No, Sir. Equal to men, yes."

"But you want to pursue love as men will."

"I do not pursue it." She was unwilling to play this disgusting game so easily as he was hoping she would. "But when it finds me, I respond as befits me and no one else."

One of his eyebrows went up. "Perhaps I'll give you a good sock in the jaw. That's what I would do for a son who disgraced this family the way you have."

 _He wouldn't,_ she told herself, though the shift in his centre of gravity forced her to do the same, to drop back a half-step as casually as she could manage.  _Not here and now, not within the first twenty-four hours of my arrival._

"Perhaps that would make you a tyrant and a coward, if the only way you could solve your problems is with your fists. I wonder who taught me that?"

The skin all over his face tightened as his teeth clenched, and his head dropped to one side, sending a popping noise echoing around the ornate chamber.

"Was that supposed to scare me?" she scoffed.

"Have you been training?" he asked in a low snarl. "Every day? Twice a day?"

"No. Have you? I noticed a little softness around your midsection, Sir. Too many Heinekens with the Prime Minister on Saturday evenings?"

"How dare you speak to me in that tone, let alone say such a thing with that ungrateful mouth. Perhaps I really will knock you on your ungrateful  _rompe._ "

Both of Elsa's eyebrows raised as both hands also raised to protect her chest. "Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

"Ah," he chuckled, voice devoid of emotion. "But you've already said you are not a lady, but a gentleman. And this is how gentlemen settle an argument."

"Apparently, they also put statues with enormous  _pikkene_ out for anyone to see, first thing when they come to their homes. Compensating?"

That did it; her use of vulgarity even above and beyond his was the last straw. With a roar, he sped for her, leg lashing out for her thighs.

Both of her hands caught the kick and slid around his boot, slipping it free while leaping around his next jab and dropping it squarely in the center of his head as she vaulted over him, eventually dropping into a crouch on the other side.

 _"Tispe!"_ he growled, incensed at the comedy of the attack as he came at her again, this time catching her upper arm and using it to yank her off-balance. Before his knuckles could sink into her gut, she literally dropped, swinging from the hinge his other hand created around her arm and using the momentum to sink her elbow deep into his ribcage. His fingers released her arm, and she executed a quick roll that brought her back to her feet a few metres away.

"Enough," Elsa whispered as she circled him warily, watching him straighten and wince, both reeling from the pain and reassessing his current combat ability. "No, my skills have not dulled, and no, you aren't as young as you used to be. What's the point of this?"

He did not answer with words, but a rather abrupt jab with his fingers thrust forward, going for her neck. It was a blow that would paralyse her entirely. If he was even an inch to either side of the pressure point, it could do more lasting damage.

Therefore, she simply wasn't there when the blow landed. Trying her best to keep every limb within her field of vision, she dropped to a crouch, propped her hands against the floor and kicked upward before he could fully withdraw his arm.

_"STOP!"_

The very tip of Elsa's shoe just barely grazed the sleeve of his suit jacket. If the shout had rang out even a second later, Statsråd Froiland would have been walking into his next cabinet meeting with his arm in a sling.

And he knew it. As Elsa slowly pushed to her feet, movements carefully casual, she saw the rage and shame in his eyes. He had  _lost_  - not only to his own student, but to a _woman_. His pride could not so easily heal as his bruises.

"I might have known this would happen," her mother snapped as she approached, heels clicking against the marble floor. "Tell the truth, now; you attacked her because she said something you didn't agree with, didn't you?"

 _"Kjære,"_ he began gently, "this is between only the practitioners of  _Froilandkunst_. You know full well that had she not been trained in our way, I never would have-"

"I don't care!" Every bone in her body was trembling with rage. "She's only just arrived today! It shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm upset at you for  _physically assaulting_ my daughter, no matter your reasoning! Honestly!"

Dusting off his sleeves, the head of the household merely stood regarding Elsa, jaw clenched. She knew he had not forgiven her, neither for her winning this fight nor for what had taken place the last time she was on this property. However, there was a grudging respect in his gaze; she had not backed down and had surpassed him in the training. His personal feelings could not erase that.

"Tell Pabbie that dinner had better be piping hot in exactly forty minutes," he said, still not dropping his eyes. "I'm going up to change into something more comfortable."

Then he turned to ascend the grand staircase. Elsa did not relax or allow her vigilance to lapse until he was entirely out of sight.

"Welcome back to Bygdøy," her mother said in a weary tone.

 _"Ja…_  I'm definitely home."

_\- To Be Continued -_


	14. Integrated Approach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning for familial physical abuse. It isn't too awful, but there's mention of it and I know that can be upsetting.
> 
> My apologies to the long wait for this chapter. URGH, writer's block and Real Life Nonsense! I can now promise with a clear conscience that the next chapters will not take nearly this long to get out, because I have rough drafts of the next couple hammered out. What can I say? I was in the zone!
> 
> What's fun is that during the writing of the office-related bits of this chapter, the song "Mission Statement" by Weird Al Yankovic came up in my playlist. It was quite apropos!
> 
> Again, sorry about any ridiculousness with the Norwegian: native speakers can PM me and I'll correct what needs correcting!
> 
> Jessex

The ticking on the other side of ornate double doors seemed like the din of a thousand sledgehammers pounding into concrete mere inches away. In reality, its source was actually but a single grandfather clock. Far less noteworthy. Either way, it kept a steady accounting of each and every second that passed with the Froilands seated around the dinner table.

At length, two of the servants came through and placed small round puddings in the spots where their dinner dishes had been lying moments before. Elsa stared down into it blandly; lemon custard. There was no dish she found more dull than lemon custard, except perhaps some sort of tofu custard which she hoped never to sample.

"I thought the weather was normally quite dry this time of year."

She nearly dropped her spoon while looking up toward her mother. "Sorry?"

"In Arendopolis." The woman glanced up toward the head of the table at her husband, then back to her daughter. "You implied it's a bit gloomy."

"No, not at all. Just that it was overcast the day I left. It's actually lovely weather there at present. Warmer than here, perhaps, but… yes."

"Ah."

The silence stretched on for another few seconds that felt like a brief eternity. Everyone squirmed in their seats, and Elsa herself tried to ignore the persistent high-pitched whine in her head. This really wasn't far removed from how things had been during her last visit. Why was she even vestigially surprised? Her mother was a bit less judgemental, yes, but by and large nothing had changed. Would there come a day when the Froiland clan could gather around and speak openly? They had already exhausted all of the surface topics: her father's job, her mother's hobbies and social circle. Matters of international importance. Sporting events. The ecological recovery efforts in the Middle East following the nuclear disaster. Now, even the weather had been addressed. It wouldn't be long before...

"Alright," her father begun brusquely. "Let's hear about this snafu of yours that's got you sent back to our doorstep."

Right on schedule. Her mother's glass fell to the table, also in keeping with Elsa's expectations. "Really, Yngve! Don't you have any more tact than that?"

"We know full well he doesn't," Elsa grumbled.

"You're spending too much time focusing on how I've phrased the question and not enough on answering," he accused, brow darkening. "That's a coward's way, avoiding the issue."

"It's an unfeeling boor's way to phrase a simple question in the least diplomatic way possible. Or aren't you used to dealing with diplomats by now, Sir?"

"You're still doing it now. What do you have to hide?"

Elsa shrugged, trying not to let her heart rate increase the blood flowing through her temples. Trying not to sweat through her suit or allow the indignant rage to overtake her tone of voice. "Nothing. It is what my enemies have to hide: that they have tampered with official documents and broken laws. I have had an anonymous complaint filed, and upon my-"

"Pah," he sighed. "So you won't even openly confront the wrongdoers? How can you expect anything to get done at that rate?"

"If I openly confront them, I'll look like an incompetent."

"If the  _sko_ fits…"

Elsa's hand slowly curled around the stem of her wine glass. Perhaps her mother had noticed the tension in her knuckles and guessed at the likely outcome. "Now, now, dear. Elsa doesn't tell you how to gallivant around with those fat cats in the cabinet. Why should you tell her how to discipline her own board members? I'm sure she has set things in motion."

"The issue isn't that she's fixing the mistake. It's the mistake. Clearly, she has left herself open to attack, left blind spots in place that were exploited. This is about ensuring that this cannot happen again." All was silent as he chewed his bite of custard before continuing. "That is, unless you give up your capitalist ways and start aspiring to a higher calling."

"Really?" Elsa laughed bitterly. "In all these years, there still has never been a woman Pope. What makes you think I'll be the first?"

A snort of derision. "Droll humour. Again, only something those who are unwilling to confront the truth employ as a means of escape. What are you going to do with yourself after this company folds, or ejects you from its board? Open a tea shop? Clean houses? Vidtelemarketing?"

"You're trying to get me to throw my hat into the bloodthirsty ring of politics. I'd sooner clean houses, actually."

"Perhaps you're better suited for that."

That was a true slap in the face. A powerful urge swept over Elsa to stomp outside, detach the marble chode from the statue and use it to beat her father senseless. "Perhaps I am. Perhaps you've done such a piss-poor job of raising me that I'm completely useless. The Great Statsråd Froiland can't even make his daughter into anything more than a window-washer. Quite a feather in your cap!"

His eyes flashed. "Young lady, you will not raise your voice to me in my own household."

"Or what?"

"Or I will not go so easy on you as I did in the foyeur."

It had escalated to threat of physical violence already. Just like old times. Oh, he had never beaten her, not as such. Merely used their training as a tool to correct what he saw as aberrant behaviour. He would not continue to attack or injure her beyond the constraints of their martial art, his sparring always a tiny notch above her current level of study. Of course, her current level was complete mastery and had been for years; he would no longer hold back. And he hadn't in the foyeur, either.

"Now whose words are full of emptiness, Father?"

He did not flinch, but merely folded his arms over his chest. "You will still afford me the respect due both my political status and my position in this family,  _liten jente._ "

"Why should I? How has a single thing you've said to me since you walked in that door been respectful? You've never given me any indication that you care about me other than the possible honour I can bring to your coat of arms!"

"What is there to respect?" he growled, hands slamming onto either side of his plate as he shot to his feet. "You shame our house with your predilections, you flee from the problem to another country instead of taking your lumps like the man you ask to be treated as, you come back into my home, speak this way to your own father! And then you ask to be treated with respect?  _Pokker,_  is it absurd! I cannot understand you - I have never understood you since the doctors put you into my hands and I did not know what you were!"

There was an audible gasp from both her mother and one of the servants in the doorway to the kitchens. Every drop of Elsa's blood seemed to burn.

"That isn't my fault."

Her mother cleared her throat delicately. "Dear-"

"It is true," he flung back at his wife before turning back to glare evenly at Elsa, eyes blazing with intensity. "From that very moment, you were a mystery to me, and you have never ceased to be. I had hoped that, through proper instruction, I might make a proper Froiland out of you yet. God knows you showed enough promise. Alas, it seems you are what I thought you were from the first day of your life:  _djevel_. A demon _._ "

Even though Elsa had heard him say it twice before in her life, both in similar moments of distress or rage, it never failed to slap into her with the force of a frigid tsunami. Being told she was inhuman, a monster. Something to be feared and remain unexplained rather than a person.

"Yngve," her mother breathed. "Oh, how could you?"

"If I'm a demon," Elsa began low in her throat as she pushed her chair back and slowly rose to her feet, "then what in the bloody nine hells does that make you? Lucifer?"

"That is enough!" he shouted.

"I agree! It is quite enough! Goodnight, Statsråd!"

He was still sputtering as she stormed out and up the stairs, and she heard shouting as she gained the security of the guest room but closed it off with a slam of the door. That was something she did not need to hear further.

It was only a few minutes later when she heard a knock. She ignored it, but when she heard a light clink outside and receding footsteps, she opened it out of sheer curiosity.

A cup of tea sat on a saucer, steaming gently on the air. Martha. She always put a little wedge of lemon on the edge of the saucer, even though she knew Elsa did not take hers with lemon. She sat back down on the edge of her bed, sipped at it restlessly, and then bawled into her hands.

~ o ~

The next morning, she joined her mother for breakfast a few minutes too late to catch her father before he went off to the office. By design, of course. Her mother pretended this to be a nice surprise and blithely chatted about inconsequential things, clearly having been displeased with his behaviour but unwilling to publicly denounce it. That was as much as Elsa expected, so she wasn't terribly let down.

After a quick change in clothing, she checked to make sure her old Bentley was still in the family garage (it was) and made her way to the Bygdøy offices of North Mountain, seeing the squat, welcoming tower for perhaps the third time in person and smiling mildly. It was really a lovely building, despite how much less modern it looked, its diminutive size, and the lack of dock for aircabs. They had not so widely embraced aircabs in Europe as they had in North America, preferring instead to perfect more eco-friendly engines for land vehicles.

The lead man of that branch, an elderly chap by the name of Mr. Porter, was more than happy to show her around and introduce her to a few key faces. Not that she expected to need to remember them for long, but she didn't mind meeting those who represented her hiring policies. One middle-aged woman was someone she remembered meeting a few years previously, which was somehow the most comforting thing that had happened since she arrived in Norway. There were consistencies in life, even if some of them seemed inconsequential.

She followed up by arranging for a meeting of their board to discuss things like "synergy" and how they could more aggressively appeal to the localized market. In other words, establish that she was in charge without compromising the good work they had done thus far. She had a look through their quarterly reports and they were already well on their way to repairing the company's good name in Norway on their own. Perhaps the appearance of the CEO and top shareholder would inspire them to further this momentum, so long as she did nothing to undermine their confidence in themselves. It was quite the balancing act, but one she had done with style and grace on several occasions.

Being that the meeting was to take place the following day, she spent a great deal more time that day assuring Porter that she wouldn't need to oust him from his own office to take on her position, and ploppe herself in the nearest empty room on that floor to his so they might coordinate more easily. She checked the desk drawers for any strange or unpleasant surprises left by its previous tenant, propped her feet up on it, mimed smoking a large Cuban cigar and blowing smoke rings - not that she had the faintest idea of how to do so. Eventually, she grew bored with the room and offered to buy everyone on the floor a simple lunch. This earned her a round of cheers she felt were undeserved; it was only food, after all.

At long last, the day drew to a close. Elsa took in the sights from the window of her luxury automobile as she drove down streets and got herself lost on purpose. Bygdøy's quaint charms never failed to amuse and delight. She considered a trip into Oslo proper but ruled against it; that could wait, especially if she was to be there for a few more weeks yet. Heavens knew how long it would take Yzma to complete development of their secret weapon.

She was nearly home when she remembered he would be there.

Fifteen minutes later found Elsa sitting on one of the docks, legs dangling over the side but too high for her feet to reach the water. Breathing in the bracing air, she shivered slightly and, again, tried to ignore the chirping of her wristphone.

It was Anna. She had seen that much by checking the display. Was Elsa ready to talk to her yet? She was and she wasn't; she desperately wanted to speak to her, just to check in and say everything was okay, ask how she'd been getting along without her. On the other hand, she knew their talking would lead to unpleasant conversations, likely with a side order of shouting. Hadn't there been enough shouting within the past twenty-four hours?

She let it go to voicemail. No message was left.

~ o ~

It was literally scant few minutes before the typically-appointed dinner time in the Froiland household when Elsa walked in the front door, heart heavy and nerves frayed. She really had to find that apartment sooner rather than later.

"Young Miss?"

She spun to her right and found Martha edging out from behind the doorway. "Martha? Goodness, you seem a bit on edge." But the elder woman only beckoned her into the parlour. Curious, she followed her inside, eyes alighting on the wetbar and ancient phonograph before she turned again to whisper, "Okay, what is it? Did the butler poison the master's soup? Ugh, if only..."

"Come off it," she blustered, fidgeting with her hands. "It's… there's been a…"

Elsa rolled her eyes, laying a hand on Martha's shoulder and feeling the stiff, starched fabric beneath her palm. "Out with it, please. Can't be so awful."

"Well, there's a young ginger girl who's come around to see you. Everyone's in the drawing room at present."

"There's… wait."

No.  _No._

She couldn't possibly. There was no combination of bravado and ignorance that would prompt Anna to do something this reckless.

"Says she's a business associate of yours," Martha went on apologetically, as if merely delivering the news made her personally responsible for the chain of events. "Snowden or something. Either way, her having this address and coming to see you in person instead of at the offices has Master and Mistress in a kerfuffle, I can tell you that. Looks more than a touch suspicious."

"Gods take me," Elsa groaned, slumping against a curio cabinet and pressing a pale hand to her face, trying to take slow and deep breaths but only managing quick and frantic ones. "Gods open up the heavens or the fires of damnation and just take me right now, I don't care which direction I go! It can't be worse than walking into that mess!"

"Then… if I were to venture that you and she…" When Elsa didn't even bother to respond, Martha laughed bitterly. "Apparently, she's taken with you enough to fly all the way across the Atlantic. Might want to keep after her."

"But she can't understand what she's done by coming here! How difficult this is about to be! Do I really need someone in my life who hasn't a shred of forethought?!"

Martha pursed her lips, regarding her former charge. "Can you really afford to pass over someone who cares for you that deeply? Sakes alive, girl, she's in Norway! It's not a Sunday drive!"

Elsa couldn't deal with all those implications right now, both the good and bad. Damage control was the order of the day. "How… long have they been chatting?"

"Perhaps half an hour, likely less."

The call. It had been Anna trying to warn her, to ask her if she wanted to meet somewhere else, perhaps. By ignoring it, she had sealed her own fate. This was the direct consequence of her own cowardice. "Damn it all."

"Go on, then," Martha encouraged her, eyes softening as she took in Elsa's reticence. "Best to get it over and done with if you're going to do it."

"But how would I even proceed? Should I admit what she is to me and risk an incident, or play her off as an 'associate' and start living with lies again? Either choice sounds appalling."

"Just get in there, I should think! They're likely starting to wonder about the noises from the entrance hall and why it hasn't meant you joining them yet!"

Martha was right, of course. Nothing to be done but sort the mess that she had inadvertently created. Nodding to her old friend, she mimed rolling up her sleeves as she took a deep breath and released it, eased open the doors, then walked across the entrance hall and into the drawing room.

There they were, her father in his Seat Of Power with the ornate fireplace to his back, mother in another chair at his side, and Anna herself on the settee she had so recently shared with her mother. While her parents were resplendent in their usual finery, Anna was only saved from looking shabby by the presence of a smart grey sportcoat; otherwise, she was wearing jeans, and her blouse and ballet flats were the same shade of carnation pink. A cooling cup of tea sat on the table nearest her, and Elsa wondered if they had offered her biscuits of any kind.

Also, they were presently in the middle of what had promised to be a healthy and robust awkward silence. Perfect timing, then.

"Ah, there you are at last," her father began gruffly. "We had begun to wonder if a search party was necessary. Surely you can't have needed to stay this late your first day there?"

"Heavens, no," Elsa said easily, as if she actually found him amusing instead of infuriating and worthy of being drawn and quartered. "Just went for a bit of a drive. I haven't been back in so long!" Then she cleared her throat and, almost too dramatically, turned to face Anna. The redhead had the good grace to look slightly abashed at the results of her actions. "I see you've already had the pleasure of Miss Snowman?"

"Delightful woman, yes," her mother laughed. "Said she had things to discuss with you about your… shared futures?"

Oh, there was innuendo there, but it was at least partially veiled. This was what passed for her mother giving her some consideration. In light of that, she cleared her throat and said, "Well, yes. I'm afraid she was one of the early casualties of the Winter Consortium's misdeeds. We've been working in tandem to help undo what damage has been done. Seems the least I can do."

"That's what I was just starting to tell them," Anna piped up, cheeks ever-so-slightly rosy. "And you don't need to worry about Mr. Hall; so far, he's been great!"

"Assumed he would be." Then she gestured to her parents. "Anna Snowman, Yngve and Ivy Froiland, but I suppose they'd have covered that."

"They did." Anna stood and wrung her hands. "Listen… maybe the calls weren't enough notice, I feel like I kind of barged in on your family reunion, here, so maybe I should-"

"No!" Startled with herself, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and laid a hand on Anna's arm - making sure it was friendly without seeming overly affectionate. "No, don't be silly. You're here to see to your future, as my mother put it. But I am a bit surprised you'd fly all the way here instead of setting up a holo-conference."

This was meant as a very tiny revenge toward her, to put her on the spot. It worked; Anna grimaced, but recovered and smiled again quickly. "W-well, I dunno. I mean, when you're head of a company, you wind up with a lot of unused vacation days, y'know? And I've never really been to this part of the world before. Just, y'know… since I have a friend in the area, seemed like as good a time as any!"

Elsa smirked slightly, and Anna's eyebrow facing away from her parents arched as if to beg her to help somewhat. That was enough chiding for the unannounced visit; otherwise, she was quite happy to see her and more than ready to get on with shutting up her parents so they could go off somewhere and do what she had been avoiding less than an hour previously. "Well, you're welcome to stay here if you like, or we could give you a ride back to your hotel. Either is fine."

"That's appreciated, but-"

"Have you booked a hotel already?" Ivy interrupted.

"Well… no, but it's-"

"Then you'll stay with us and I won't hear a word against it," she said in that falsely-firm tone she had practised to perfection with her socialite friends. "We've a dozen guest rooms serving no purpose but to keep the servants dusting the furniture within them! Why waste your money?"

Anna looked stricken and in a mild panic. Swallowing, she eyed Elsa, then began, "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Froiland, that's too much - I m-mean, it's very nice of you, but you only just met me today, and I c-couldn't feel okay about-"

"Nonsense," her father stated firmly. "We've already extended a welcome, and you haven't checked into anywhere else yet. The matter is settled."

Instantly, Elsa felt herself bristling. What made him think he got to decide for some complete stranger what she could and couldn't do? Anna wasn't family and she wasn't a child. He really did have an unflappable superiority complex. It was all she could do to prevent her mouth from forming the words "misogynist neanderthal" and ejaculating them into his pompous face.

However, he had made it seem a lot more impossible for Anna to refuse their offer, which pleased Elsa. Regardless of how their impending talks went, it seemed like all would be made easier if they could simply trot down the hall and talk in one person's room or the other's instead of meeting up here or there throughout Bygdøy. Based on this, she'd let his deplorable attitude slide this time. Also, fighting it would only sour the fragile mood.

"Shall I have Birgit fetch your bags from your boot and bring them up?" her mother chimed in.

"From what?" Anna asked, eyebrows knitting. "My boots are in the bags."

"Trunk," Elsa whispered. "Car trunk."

The young exec's blush deepened. "O-oh. Well, sure, if… I mean, if you guys are sure I'm not going to put you out or be in the way!"

"Of course you aren't, dear!" Ivy laughed, grasping Anna's hands as they both rose. "You've been an absolute delight the past few minutes, and I don't anticipate you'll be anything less for the rest of your stay! Make yourself at home!"

"Yes," Yngve blustered. "Coincidentally, how long might that be? I'd like to know for purposes of planning meals. I daresay you haven't developed a liking for lutefisk if you've never been to Norway before, so you can see how that might be pertinent."

"Right! Well, um, I have a return flight planned for Sunday, but I can exchange the ticket if I decide to stay longer."

Ivy released Anna's hands to clap them together in delight. "Splendid! Birgit, see to it! Elsa, why don't you find her a suitable room? Preferably one of the less drafty ones, I should think."

"Certainly, mother." She afforded her father the barest nod, only pausing just long enough to notice the irritated expression on his face before she turned and gestured for Anna to follow her out and upstairs.

"Gosh," Anna breathed as they ascended. "Why didn't you tell me you grew up in a freaking palace?! It's… I don't even have words, it's beautiful!"

"Mmm," she replied noncommittally.

"Um, okay. So about the way I kind of-"

"No, not yet," Elsa said in a pleasant and unconcerned tone but one that was noticeably softer than that of her companion. "Any of that can wait until we're behind a door. Perhaps two."

At those words, Anna's steps faltered once they reached the landing. "Behind… why? Who cares if we talk about… things here?" At least she had caught herself.

"That's the hazard, isn't it? I don't even know which of the staff I can and can't trust anymore, I've been away so long. Either way, best to be safe."

Neither of them spoke again until after Birgit had found them loitering in the hallway and followed both women into a guest room directly across the hall from the one Elsa had claimed. She stacked the two suitcases on the dresser and left the carry-on in the seat of the small armchair before bowing slightly and backing out of the room, closing the door behind herself.

Regarding each other took up a lot more time than either one expected. It felt as if a lifetime had passed since they last saw each other instead of a pair of days. Elsa felt her palms aching to reach out and caress her smooth apple cheeks, to trace rings around each freckle with her fingertips. How could she want this so much when she hadn't even consciously missed her yet?

"So, can we talk yet?" Anna began in a hushed voice, eyes sliding to point toward the door.

"Better now than before, yes."

"Good." She cleared her throat into a closed fist. "So, um… I'm trying really hard not to be mad about the way you took off."

"Anna, I'm sorry," Elsa breathed, turning to stare down at the perfectly-made bed. "It's really all I can say about my behaviour. It wasn't right, and I have no excuse other than that… I panicked. You and I were in such an odd place, and… I thought perhaps with a bit of space, and a few weeks of time…"

"No, I'm not mad you left, I knew you were going to. And now I see where you were coming from, with it being easier to do things the way you did, but…"

After the silence had reared up to scream in Elsa's ear, she prompted, "But?"

"Did you have to go without saying goodbye? Were you that scared of how I'd react?"

"In a word… yes. You were overwhelmed by our change in relationship, and learning about Ariel, and that's not even thinking about how those bastards had begun targeting you! Sorry, but it seemed smarter to just disappear. Especially since I had to come here regardless."

Anna nodded slightly, eyes still cast down and slightly toward the exit. "So, um… I forgive you? Is that the right thing to say? I don't really blame you as much as I did before, but either way, yeah."

"Thank you. And I don't want you to think I'm not glad you're here, I am, it's… well. Goodnight, then." Fidgeting with her fingers for a moment, Elsa then took a step toward the door-

And found herself tangled in Anna's arms, being pushed backward onto the bed, lips kneading against her own, heated air caressing one cheek. It was so sudden she was responding before she had processed what she was responding  _to,_  but then a soft, pliable body was pinning her to the clean sheets and legs were sliding on either side of her own and a jacket was flying across the room and high heels and flats were thumping against the area rug and fingertips were gouging against her scalp as they slid through the hair on the sides of her head until they reached the tight bun atop her crown, but they made quick work of undoing the bun and spilling her hair out over the bed as teeth caught her bottom lip and pressed in until a white-hot pinprick of pain burst through her arousal and-

" _Anna!"_ she gasped.

"Wha…" That was the most articulate her lover could be.

"Wait, wait," Elsa half-laughed, half-gasped as she pushed Anna back. The fear and confusion that began creeping into her expression pained the elder woman, so then she moved one hand up to rest lightly against a freckled neck. "It's… wow, you don't waste any time."

"I missed you," she breathed simply.

"That's all this is? You were lonely?"

A moment passed as Anna thought, also trying to catch her breath. Then she cleared her throat and whispered, "Sorry, I… well, I know how I reacted. About Ariel. And just… all I've been wanting to do since then is this. Y'know, make sure you know that I really,  _really_ care about you. That just because I was slightly thrown doesn't mean you're out of my life or anything."

"You did a pretty good job of reassuring me that day, as I recall." When Anna merely blushed a deeper shade, Elsa continued, "And I do understand. Neither of us really expected me to introduce you to an ex-girlfriend so suddenly. I never thought you were ousting me. No worries."

"Mkay. But I did miss you."

"And I you." Elsa allowed her mouth to drift up and brush against Anna's, but tried her best to ignore the yearning groan as she pulled away. "But we have to be very careful how much of this we do. Especially around here."

"What? Why is that?"

With a grimace, Elsa turned her thoughts to less pleasant matters. "My parents disapprove. Of me being the way I am."

"Being… how?" Then she caught on. "Oh, being gay?"

The grimace became more pronounced. "That very thing, yes, thanks."

"In this day and age?! It's not the 1900s anymore, how can they be so old school?"

"They're Froilands. It's what they do best."

Slowly, Anna pulled herself more properly onto the bed and curled her form around Elsa's. "Wow, that's so… and you've been putting up with this all your life, I guess. Sorry. You did tell me they weren't much fun to grow up with."

"They weren't, and for a wide variety of reasons." She stretched her limbs out and then drew Anna in for an embrace, soaking in her warmth and burying her nose in flower-scented ginger hair. "We'll work on them together, shall we?"

"We shall." Anna left a brief kiss on her lips and they both grinned. "Okay, now… you're not mad I flew in without telling you, are you?"

"Would be pretty hypocritical if I were," Elsa admitted, more to herself than to Anna.

"You were, though. Downstairs. But I get it, I surprised you."

Elsa shrugged, nuzzling against the soft cushion of strands beneath her face. "Glad you're here, so that bit hardly matters. I do have to ask how the company will be getting along without you in your absence."

"They'll be fine,  _Mother_ ," Anna joked. When Elsa coughed uncomfortably, she merely laughed and kissed her again. "Such a grump!"

"I am not a grump! I'm simply… shall we say 'sensitive' about the age issue! Trust me, I am nobody's mother and don't intend to be!"

At those words, Anna's mouth drew into a smirk as she rolled slightly to rest atop the CEO again. "Really? So if I started saying, 'yes, Mommy'..."

" _Don't you dare."_

"Why not, Mommy? Are you going to spank me?"

Inexplicably, Elsa began to feel her face heating up. This was a mortifying development, but against all reasoning, Anna's silly, childish game had unsettled her. "M-might just do!"

"Ooh," Anna cooed, wriggling from side to side as she sat up atop Elsa's pelvis. "Mommy's getting mad. Might have to put Anna in the corner and get the paddle."

 _Paddle._ This was a nightmare. Not only that, but Elsa found herself getting incredibly turned on, little by little. Not that she could fathom why! Was she truly this wretchedly lascivious? It was barely a pinprick at present but clearly it would increase in intensity very quickly if things were allowed to continue on their present course.

In her parents' guestroom. Moreover, with Anna right on top of her.

"Okay," Elsa half-laughed, half-sighed as she eased Anna to one side and sat up. "This… is not going to happen exactly now."

"But… I don't understand, Mommy."

Leaving a kiss on her forehead - one a touch rougher than she would otherwise have done - Elsa stood and hugged Anna's head to her middle, prompting a surprised little squeak from the younger woman. "Do you have anything more formal to wear in your bags? Nothing to wow the Queen Mum, just something of a 'power lunch' calibre or so."

"Um… I guess?"

Elsa could tell she had wounded Anna's pride by insinuating that her current wardrobe was inadequate, but it couldn't be helped. The reaction from her parents if Anna turned up in a ratty old Ariana Grande t-shirt and cutoffs would be leagues worse. "Put it on - shower first, if you wish - and then come to call and we'll go down to dinner together. They'll be expecting us now you're staying, but a delay is forgivable seeing as you just got here."

Sighing in relief at what she perceived to be the reason for Elsa pulling away, Anna nodded against the flesh of Elsa's stomach. "Family duties, gotcha. And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make waves between you and your parents."

"Normally, I wouldn't care, except while you're actually staying under our roof I'd rather things go as swimmingly as possible." Voice dipping lower, she confided, "Come Sunday, I might just snog you in front of them for a laugh."

It was impossible for Anna not to grin at that notion. Standing, she gave Elsa's hand a brief squeeze and then bent to retrieve Elsa's heels and push them into her arms. "Well, I guess you'd better be on your way so I can freshen up or whatever. Out you go!"

Elsa took one look back as she stepped over the threshold, catching sight of Anna's grin through a crack in the door. Then it was shutting behind her.

 _Oh, Elsa,_ she berated herself as she plodded across to her own door.  _Where and for what frivolous purpose have you been squandering all of your courage?_

_\- To Be Continued -_


	15. Paradigm Shift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE COMES THE BIG STUFF. For anybody with a lot of questions/pointed comments/demands/suchforth at the end of this chapter (and there might be some of you), I highly recommend you wait until next chapter for answers because there will be plenty, I promise. Mostly because some of those questions/comments will probably be a bit rude/offensive. Just a prediction.
> 
> Please don't disappoint me, readers. I have faith.
> 
> Also, some steaminess; this chapter is very nearly NSFW. It isn't that bad though, I promise - nothing graphic! Urghhhh -hides under a blanket for a week-
> 
> Jessex

Elsa had thought the atmosphere was strained around the dinner table the night previous. That was  _nothing_ compared to when Anna was added into the equation.

For starters, she fielded question after useless question from Mrs. Froiland, which was nothing less than a prolonged punishment for misdeeds in a past life. Anna was quite amenable to answering them but it made the procedure only marginally more tolerable. Most of them were to do with her company, which she readily talked about in far greater detail than those about her private life. Perhaps it was out of place, but Elsa found herself unwillingly proud of Anna and the way she was handling this interrogation; she was every bit the boardroom diplomat that Elsa was sometimes just the teensiest bit too irritable to manage. Regardless of her personal feelings or their previous dealings, she found the calculating half of herself wanting to recruit the young exec to work for North Mountain. A shining star like her would be an asset no matter where she landed.

Perhaps it was just the topic of conversation, or the Statsråd's presence, or even the toughness of the well done steak her mother had requested even though she  _knew_ she hated that consistency to her beef yet persisted in ordering because she was afraid of undercooked meats. Still, something was sticking under her mother's skin, something of a personal nature. It was plain as the remodeled nose on her face. Elsa had nothing to base her suspicion on, so she dared not bring it up, publicly or in private. Not yet. If the elephant in the room continued to put a damper on things or began to make Anna feel uncomfortable, it would need to be addressed with as much tact as she could muster.

The real icing on the cake was when Anna oohed and ahhed at Yngve's tales of notable moments of diplomacy. Meeting this President of that country, having tea with such-and-such movie star. Such attention only served to inflate his already-voluminous ego, but at least it helped keep the old grump from saying unfortunate things that everyone would regret. Once, while his attention was turned to her mother to verify some fact or other, Anna hid a coy wink by holding her water glass higher than was strictly necessary.

 _You little minx,_ Elsa thought, fighting down a grin.  _You're doing this on purpose. Buttering him up so he doesn't have any reason to disapprove of you or berate me needlessly. You didn't stay head of Snowman Home Robotics on nepotism and your considerably radiant looks alone._

Then Elsa was thinking about said looks a little too long, gazing at Anna a little too long. Forcing her attention back to her father's absurd story caused her physical pain but she endured it. However, she could see suspicion creeping into her mother's eyes.

_Just don't acknowledge it. If you don't, it never happened, and she's too cowardly to confront me about it again._

That wasn't fair to her mother, though. "Cowardly" wasn't the word. Pacifistic, maybe. And what was so wrong with wanting peace? Wanting a calm, quiet dinner without her only daughter storming upstairs, enraged? Objectively, she would never have blamed the woman. Subjectively…

"BOOM!"

They all jumped when Mr. Froiland pounded a fist against the tabletop, causing water to slop over the side of Elsa's recently-refilled glass. If she didn't know any better, she might have suspected he was waiting until that exact moment for that very reason.

"Whoa!" Anna gasped, more genuinely interested than she had been for the other stories. "So… I mean, did he get hit, or what?"

"Very nearly," the Statsråd told her with a solemn nod, spearing another bite of steak with his fork. "If not for my actions, he would have been. Took off skin from his ear - here." He pointed where the bullet had apparently grazed whoever he was talking about.

"But you aren't a bodyguard, sir, so… so why do that? It's not your job."

He shrugged as he finished chewing. "It was a natural human thing to do, try to save a man. Perhaps I would not have if not for my combat training; worried I could not move in time, or would only make things worse. Luckily for him, I am not a typical pot-bellied bureaucrat."

"Getting there with every rare steak," his wife muttered under her breath. He grimaced but otherwise pretended not to hear her.

"I thought," Elsa put in, "that last time you told that story, the bullet hadn't hit him at all."

"Maybe I forgot to mention that part."

"No, I distinctly remember you saying that you'd moved him clean out of the way of it."

"It hit nothing vital. So I did as you say, more or less." His tone was getting more hostile, but only scarcely so.

Anna snorted. "Either way, I wish I could move like that. Don't you, Elsa?"

"Oh?" At this, a rare smile crossed Yngve's features. It was not a pleasant sight. "Don't you, then?"

The glare Elsa levelled at her father in this moment rivalled that of the several thousand she had employed in the past. They were all birds of a feather, though. Both of them knew that if Elsa did reveal  _Froilandkunst_ to an outsider, he would be furious - and yet here he was, making her choose to either openly reveal it and incur his wrath, or admit she was concealing something from her friend, and thereby damage the integrity of their relationship. A catch-22 if ever there were one.

Not that she hadn't been hiding things. Under his orders. For the sake of Clan Froiland.

"Don't… you what?" Anna glanced between both Elsa and her father, but when neither of them acknowledged her she turned to Mrs. Froiland. "Am I missing something?"

"Nothing very interesting, my dear. Just two stubborn rams butting their horns together."

Elsa knew that she would be both amused and annoyed at her mother's words later that night, when she was not in the midst of a staring contest. For now, she was trying to figure out how to best escape this situation with her own pride intact, but without causing another shouting match.

Then she decided she didn't care.

"Apparently, my father has decided centuries of secrecy is coming to an end."

Yngve's previously smug features instantly tightened, eyes going sharp as a hawk's. Checkmate. If he leaped over the table to silence her, it would instantly become crystal clear that he was very skilled in some martial art or another. If he didn't, she would simply keep talking. There were no moves open to him other than to let this secret out.

"There are several secrets we could tell your friend tonight. Some of them aren't even thirty years old, let alone centuries."

Ah.  _There_ was his ace in the hole. Every drop of colour drained from Elsa's face as she stared aghast at her father. No, she didn't truly think he would vent that merely to cow her into submitting to his will. But the very notion that he would use such a thing as a  _bargaining chip_ was utterly repulsive to her. How dare he. It was unconscionable. Even beyond her surprise that he might be willing to go into detail about something he normally refused to even examine or discuss, she was appalled that he would do so in front of their guest.

"Go on, then," she just barely kept from growling viciously. "If you're really willing to offer that up, get on with it. Your precious slab of cow flesh is getting cold."

Seconds ticked by, again marked by the deafening echo of the grandfather clock. They all watched the patriarch weighing his options. At long last, he simply turned and motioned for another drop of wine from Birgit, who hastened to comply. Crisis averted… for now.

After a few tense moments, Mrs. Froiland changed the topic to a new organic deep-cleansing shampoo she had been trying over the past few weeks, and conversation meandered through dessert and into the drawing room, where Anna became very impressed with Ivy's ability on the harpsichord. The hours passed amiably enough despite the occasional glare between father and daughter. At long last, Elsa feigned a yawn and Anna took her cue and allowed her head to droop a bit before snapping it back up. The elder Froilands didn't even have to feign their fatigue, and they called it a night.

"Elsa, dear, would you help me with closing the wetbar?"

Begrudgingly, she joined her mother in trying to lock the small cabinet. To be fair, it had a habit of sticking at times. Yngve had already bade them good night and retreated, and thus could not be called upon. Anna hesitated in the doorway before Elsa shooed her off by pointing at her wrist and then waving toward the stairs: "Wait for me" was the unspoken message. Whatever this talk was about, obviously it was going to be a private, uncomfortable one.

"Alright," Elsa began preemptively. "Sorry for baiting His Majesty into that staring match, but you know I wasn't-"

"Don't worry about that," she said distractedly as she easily shut the wetbar, now that they had privacy. "Your father definitely set that fuse to burning, even though you didn't do much to douse it. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

That wrong-footed Elsa slightly. "It's- oh. Then-"

"That, erhm…  _friend_ of yours." She said "friend" the same way she had said it about Ariel when Elsa talked about her on the phone. The way that implied part of her brain acknowledged what sort of friendship they were sharing but could never openly embrace it or approve of them. "You need to stay away from her."

_Fantastic; THIS talk again._

"Excuse me?" An exasperated burst of laughter rolled from inside her throat. "Oh, this is really rich, mother. Here I thought you were starting to come around, that we could move past all that ugliness, but here we are, right back at square-"

"Just shut up for once and  _listen_ to me!"

The sharpness in Ivy's tone completely cut through whatever Elsa had been thinking; now she couldn't even remember her very next word, much less what argument it had been a foundation for.

"Please, Elsa. I know you think I'm… old-fashioned, and homophobic and all those things. Perhaps I am, and perhaps I'm not a great deal better than I was last time you visited, though I have been trying to change my thinking for your sake. But that's off the point. I'm telling you to stay away from this girl  _in particular._ Do you understand?"

"Why?" Elsa snapped. "Because she seems to be making me happy? Because she's obviously a capable businesswoman who is every bit my peer, and therefore you can't just write her off as a 'dalliance' that I'll get out of my system eventually?" Then her eyebrows drew together. "Wait… this isn't about her company, is it? Do you think I'm going to sink my own trying to save her or some nonsense?"

"Nothing petty like that. Don't I deserve a bit more credit?"

Only now did Elsa hone in on the emotion playing across her mother's surgically-altered features. It was fear. Not just the fear and loathing of a bigot confronted with love they didn't understand. Deep, firmly-rooted terror of something that presented real danger.

"Mum… what is it, what's the matter?"

"Call it a gut feeling," she whispered softly. Then she turned to stare out one of the grandly arching windows at the grounds, at the pools of light that the electric lamps, wired to emulate the flicker of a lit torch, cast over the immaculately-trimmed grass. "I'm sure this would make more sense if I could fully explain, but I'm asking you just this once to trust me when I say being anything more than a friend to her will cause nothing but disaster. That isn't some threat from your father and I, either, it's… a surety."

"Come off it. You can't expect me to… to just drop everything and change how I feel about a person based on such a vague warning! You're going to have to give me more."

Even from the side, it was obvious her features had become slightly more pinched. "And… how do you feel? About Anna, that is. Do you love her?"

Elsa stayed silent.

"Have you and she…"

"Mother, that is so far outside your business that I can't even  _begin_ to list the ways!"

Ivy swayed slightly, then drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. "You're right, it's not my business. I just sincerely hope you haven't yet."

"Why? Why do you care so much more about this one?"

A light shrug as she turned, eyes slightly misty but otherwise carrying herself as she usually did. "Sorry, it's not something I can say at present."

"You won't even explain properly and I'm supposed to just- just toss her out into the gutter, is that it? Well, forget it! How Anna and I proceed in our… 'friendship' is no one's business but our own, and unless you have anything more solid to present as evidence of why we should split, then I'm afraid this discussion is at an end. Thank you for this confounding waste of time."

As Elsa made for the door, Ivy reached out and laid a hand on her forearm. If it had been an iron grip, Elsa would simply have pulled free and stormed out. However, it was feather-light and trembling. Pleading and desperate. A quick glance displayed dilated pupils, pulse rocketing in her neck. This was a woman very near shock.

"Just hold off," she begged now. "For a bit. You can shag another of the maids if you're so hard pressed for that sort of companionship, just… please,  _please,_  anyone but Miss Snowman up there!"

The silence swelled until it felt like a presence. Elsa glanced down at the hand on her arm, at the first few tiny age spots on it. Then back up into her mother's face. "You aren't telling me something. What is it? What do you know?"

"Nothing. I don't  _know_ anything. As I've said, a gut feeling. Only… if you ever thought I did anything right for you throughout your entire upbringing, no matter how trivial, I'm asking you to defer to my judgement and hold off, just for a bit. That's all."

"I can't, and I won't. Not unless you can get your foot out of your mouth and give me a reason. Beyond that, I'm going to continue to operate as if this conversation never happened." At the crestfallen look on her mother's face, she rolled her eyes and added, "If it eases your conscience any, I won't be 'accelerating' anything just to spite you, though."

"Thank God for small mercies," she sighed with a tinge of sarcasm. Then she shrugged wearily. "I suppose it's better than nothing. Do what you must… but don't forget what I said, alright, dear?"

"Oh, this ranks as  _highly_ memorable, Mother. Good evening."

With that, she turned on her heel and stalked away… but a sinking feeling in her stomach told her that this wasn't over. That her mother was shooting from the hip, perhaps for the first time in all her life. Why was this particular "gay sin" so much more grievous than the others?

~ o ~

The hour was so late and Elsa's mind so wrung-out when she retired to her room that she didn't even bother to turn on the light or check her messages or anything. She simply shucked her clothing and crawled into bed, hoping the tiny amount of warming wine in her stomach would help lull her off to dreamland rather quickly.

Instead, she found herself brushing against another source of warmth. Fingers pressed to her mouth when she attempted to scream, but the giggle echoing through the darkened room stayed the elbow that had reared up to crash solidly into the other party's ribcage.

A light kiss on her cheek confirmed who it was, though it was mostly unnecessary.

 _"Anna?!"_ she hissed as the hand fell away. "What in the hell are y-"

"Shhhh!" Another giggle, followed by two hands tracing their ways up her sides. "Hey."

"Are you mad? We can't do this here, I told you!"

"Okay, you mimed for me to wait for you. I got tired of waiting while clothed, and while standing, so I got in bed. No big deal."

"Yes, big deal!  _Very_ big deal - enormous!"

At that, Anna pinched her side lightly. To Elsa's dismay, she was both irritated and slightly stimulated by the brief pain. That was a formula for disaster. "Okay, so you said we have to be 'careful'. Totally doable. I can be quiet if you can."

"That's not the… ooh..."

Two thin fingernails were tracing their way up Elsa's side, then down along her arm. Instantly, her heart was thudding in her throat and her mouth dried out almost entirely. Every inch of her body felt like it was shaking. Despite Anna's youth and bisexual-neophyte status, why did it seem like she was always the one initiating these encounters?

Lips found lips, biting and tasting, and Elsa let her hands drift up Anna's back. Her brain tried to concentrate on work, or on the weather, or anything else instead of letting her good sense be steamrolled by arousal. Alas, she was fighting a losing battle. After the way they parted, she needed this more than ever before.

But her mother's words echoed in her ears: "Anyone but Miss Snowman." Just for a second, her actions hesitated. Was she doing this for the right reasons? Or just because it was possible? She knew she had at  _least_ evolved beyond canoodling purely for the thrill of doing it under her parents' roof. No; this was a beautiful moment that she desperately wanted to share with only one person on the planet. With her Anna.

"Mhh… Is… is it okay if I want this so bad I might… bite?"

"Bite?" Instantly, Elsa felt her cheeks flooding with redness. "O-oh, you're… a biter, are you?"

Anna kissed Elsa's bare shoulder, just to one side of the camisole strap. "Not all the time. Just… during special occasions, or if I'm, uh… y'know. Pent up."

When teeth sank into the shoulder-flesh, Elsa knew just how pent up her girlfriend had become in the past days. The hands roaming up and down her body did little to reduce this impression. Twin lips left burning marks of passion along her collarbone as Elsa's hand drifted down to Anna's thigh-

"Bloody hell, you're freaking  _naked!"_

Of course, Anna had to stop momentarily to giggle. "Wow, have you ever thought of going into the detective business?"

"B-but… if somebody else had come in with me, or the maid popped around to straighten my bedclothes, th-they would have… and you couldn't have time to throw your things back on or have explained yoursel-"

"They didn't," Anna whispered with her mouth a hair's breadth from Elsa's ear, causing the latter to shiver. "And I figured, as late as it is, nobody but you would be...  _coming_ in here. Pretty safe bet, right?"

The implication wore at Elsa's resolve. After all, her hand was still on a naked hip, her mind trying not to think of what sensitive areas lay nearby, waiting to be teased, explored. They had never been this laid bare to each other before, this intimate. Separated by so little as Elsa's undergarments.

Separated by the few scant seconds it would take to remove the final barrier.

Presently, she felt Anna's hand caressing down her stomach, and shivered when it reached the ribbon of skin between hems, a fingernail tracing tiny circles around her navel. Always teasing, and always satisfying. When it begun to move a bit further downward, she smiled sadly and alighted her own hand on Anna's, holding her fast.

"What is it?"

"Don't… you remember?" Elsa panted restlessly. "For me, it is more blessed to give than to receive."

"Stop quoting Sunday school at me and open up," Anna grunted good-naturedly. "This is your turn, and it's overdue. I want to give something to you for a change."

At those words, Elsa felt her heart cringe. There had been no intention of martyring herself or acting wounded, but Elsa knew Anna felt guilty for - as she perceived it - taking advantage of Elsa's kindness. It was such a fact in her mind that she didn't even notice when she had brought it up. "Oh, my Anna…"

"So let me." Anna stopped to kiss Elsa's chin. "Please? Just… try it for a minute. I've never done this before, either… well, for anyone but myself. So we'll both learn something."

As the hand wandered down, Elsa felt panic rising in her chest. She really wanted this. Really,  _really_ wanted this, but what would be the cost of allowing it to happen? Yet…

Her brain was screaming for her to stop Anna. Just to speak up, a tiny word would be enough: "wait". That one word would bring Anna to a grinding halt, she knew it would, Anna didn't have a mean bone in her body and if she heard a more urgent resistance, she would immediately halt and wait to find out what was wrong. Yet…

Any second now. Anna's hand was drifting over the top of Elsa's panties - outside, because she had already sensed that Elsa was at least somewhat hesitant. Down along the mons. Tendons and muscles stretching and crawling toward their goal, intent clear and dangerous and exhilarating. All her dreams of the past weeks were coming true.

_Yet..._

There was something that should have been addressed long ago. Before this moment.  _Never_ in this moment. Too dangerous, the outcome too predictable. It was going to be too late to speak up in a few heartbeats, and what then? Did she really want to have this conversation tonight anyway?

 _No,_ Elsa shouted internally.  _No, you don't, but Anna has a capacity for quick growth. She won't be like they were. Still… is it fair to her to do things this way?_

It wasn't. This was so unfair. How could she stop it, though, when her mouth refused to obey her?

NO. Something had to be said. The words that needed to be spoken wouldn't come, but she managed to find others and ground them out with force, breaking through her own reluctance.

"Anna! Anna, I'm sorry, I'm just scared you won't… like what you f-find."

"What?" she breathed, half-laughing again. "Come on, I- okay, so I know you're my first, um, lady. But I'm not going to be feeling anything I haven't felt before."

Elsa couldn't help snorting. "Did you just call me 'lady'?"

"Relax. Let me take control of you for once." So close were their faces that she could  _feel_ Anna biting her lip,  _smell_ her anxiety and powerful need to prove herself an adequate lover. "And if I'm doing it wrong and you need me to stop, I will. You know that though."

"I know. And… if you need to stop, for any reason at all... I won't b-be offended."

"Okay. Now..."

The hand was moving again, skipping further down and tracing its way up the inside of her thighs. Streaks of flame lit up the world below the blanket, and it set off the fire alarm in Elsa's mind.  _Froiland, you stop this insanity. Right now. Before she goes too far and everything is ruined! Stop her!_

But she didn't want to stop her.

"Oh,  _wow,_ " Anna whispered hotly, bumping her forehead against Elsa's as she concentrated. "You're soaked, it's… I can feel it right through! You're really wound up, huh?"

"Anna… you c-can't know…"

Making an incorrect assumption as to what Elsa meant, she replied, "I do know. Me, too. Feel me if you want, I… don't mind. Think I'd like that, to be honest."

No reply. Elsa was simply panting like she had run for miles, waiting. Hoping against hope that nothing further would happen.

_She's touching me. That's her hand, and that's me it's touching. I'm so terrified of what it means that I like it this much, that I want it to keep going as badly as I do, but… maybe everything will turn out alright. Maybe better than alright. It's happened before, it could happen again._

"Okie-dokie," Anna said in a pretend-irritated sigh as she readjusted slightly, their legs tangling and stomachs rubbing on either side of her arm as she angled inward slightly more, pressing fingers more firmly against Elsa's dampness. "We can take turns. I'm fine with… hm."

There it was. "Hm." The beginning of the end.

"This isn't… quite what I was expecting," Anna told her softly, voice slightly less at ease than it had been a moment before. "Different - but, um, it's not a  _bad-_ different! Well, ok- okay." Her hand groped more firmly against Elsa, and a moan of pure need burst forth. "Oh! You… you like that? There?"

Again, a caress that sent waves of ecstasy through her body. Tears burned hot in the corners of Elsa's vision, but she nodded.

"Mm… okay." There was a pure nervousness there now, one that touched both Anna's voice and her hand's movements. Not quite fear; it wasn't nearly so pronounced. Certainly not revulsion. Just surprise and caution, a hint of anxiety. It cut through Elsa like a white-hot blade, but was so much more preferable than other reactions she had received.

"Is it?" Elsa managed to pant, muddled though her head was. Gauzed though her tongue was. "Okay? Is it okay?"

"Yeah." A kiss on her cheek as the hand moved a tiny bit faster; Anna shivered but held her body closer to Elsa's, almost cradling the elder woman. "Mmhh… wow, I've n-never heard you sound this way…"

"I h-haven't…" She had to swallow and catch her breath. "Haven't s-sounded this way in quite some t-time, so…"

"That's too bad. This is my new favourite song."

"O- _oh._ Wow, this i- this isn't going to ta- to ta- OH!"

All at once, Elsa was thrashing around like a wild woman, tangling their sheets while Anna was leaving light but wet kisses on her neck as her arm vibrated, bringing friction and joy to Elsa until the joy burbled over and spilled forth. A turn of the head sent the screams of pleasure into the pillow beneath them just in time to save them from a barrage of concerned staff members swooping down on them to see who was being brutally murdered.

Deep, calming breaths brought both of them back down to earth. After a long moment, Anna let out a little shaky laugh. "Wow. You…  _wow._ "

"H… huh?"

"Hearing you like that… hot  _damn_ , it's something I can never forget!" When Elsa only nodded, Anna shifted back and forth restlessly. "Mmmh, and it's still ringing in my ears. Are you ready to let me have my turn, or do you need a minute to recover? Maybe an hour?"

"Hahh… you just… after you felt… and now you still w… really?"

"It's okay, don't kill yourself for my pleasure!" Anna laughed quietly, smoothing her hand over Elsa's slightly damp hair. "I… well, um, this might be kind of weird, but… I could go to town on myself. Give you a little aftershow."

Through the haze, somewhere in the murky depths of her innermost self, Elsa knew something wasn't right about this. There would be a reckoning when all the dust from this explosion of heat settled, and Elsa would have a lot of explaining and apologising to do before they would be okay again. At the moment, however, she was merely grateful. Completely, utterly grateful that Anna was the person that she was, and that she was in her life.

Taking great gulps of air to get her lungs to reinflate her brain, Elsa reached back and took a handful of red hair, balling it up in her fist as she pressed their bodies together.

" _Ah!"_

"Like hell you'll have to do it yourself. That's what flatmates are for."

Almost immediately afterward, Anna Snowman melted.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	16. Core Competency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more NSFW content in this chapter, but not exactly the same as last chapter, so… should be fine. Those who are uncomfortable with detailed discussions of genitals should probably skip the first half of this chapter. Anyway… a lot of questions people had are about to get answered. Not all of them, but most of them. And to the one reviewer who literally did the exact opposite of what I suggested in last chapter's author notes, I hope your troll days and troll nights are trollmendously trolltastic.
> 
> Also, for those wondering about something later in this chapter… yes, that is a RWBY quote.

The lock on the door to Elsa Froiland's guest quarters was securely fastened and the sound of the shower filled the adjacent bathroom. Clouds of steam billowed all around them, coating the mirror above the sink with fog and making it slightly hard to breathe.

"So who's this we're meeting?"

"Old family friend," Elsa sighed as she waited for her bladder to cooperate. She'd been perched on the seat for nearly the entire length of Anna's early-morning shower, but sometimes the dam was simply locked up tight. Jiggling her thighs back and forth again in the hopes it would shake something loose, she continued, "He used to be some sort of higher-up in the government, never anybody truly important but he was well-loved while in office. Our Patriarch Of Barmyness loves to parade him about and try to impress people with his connections, not realising that nobody outside Norway cares."

"Interesting. Maybe he'll be super bald and we can make jokes about that when he's not listening."

"Anna!" But they both laughed - which finally got Elsa started.  _Thank heaven,_ she thought to herself. "He's a decent old gent, really. Just stuffy and dull. Won't take forever though and we'll be right back here, or off doing what we please. You'll see."

"Yeah, well, old people get fatigued after a few hours out in the world," Anna snorted. "Hey, um, I'm done in here - you want me to let it run so you can jump right in?"

"Oh, um… yes, alright."

Hastily, Elsa cleaned herself - then wondered why she bothered if she was about to get in the shower - and had only just pulled her panties up when Anna stepped around the shower curtain, wiping water from her eyes and pushing her hair back.

Elsa went bright red. There was all of Anna, on display. Every freckle, every curve, every…

"Towel?" No time was wasted between that question and when it was being held against her body, and Anna laughed. "Wow, that was quick! Thanks."

"Of course. Now… keep your eyes closed."

"OoOOOoh," Anna giggled, dabbing at her face so she could see again before wrapping it around herself demurely. "Like you didn't just get an eyeful of the Snowman physique. How is this fair?"

"Just turn around, you, you… evil…  _erughh!"_

Laughing, Anna did as she was told, and Elsa slipped off her undergarments and darted past the curtain before the young exec's curiosity got the better of her.

"How do I need to dress for this thing?"

"Eh? Right, same as last night but something a bit… lighter, I suppose? Do you have a sundress?"

"Are you serious?" When Elsa didn't reply, Anna laughed weakly and said, "I haven't worn one of those since I was probably seven, maybe younger. Sundress!"

"Fine, forget the sundress. Just pick something in a pastel. Or something white. Anything."

"Gotcha; I'm dressing for Easter." There was the sound of some bottle or other being snapped closed, and then she asked, "Hey, do you like that shampoo in there? I could run and get mine."

"It's fine."

"You sure? Kind of… I don't know, it smells funky."

"Beneficial minerals. I agree, though, they could have tried to add a bit of mint to overpower the, er…"

"Deadly stench?"

"Odor," Elsa growled good-naturedly.

"Fine, fine. But yeah, I'll be using what I brought from now on, thanks."

Elsa poured body wash into the loofah and set to work on her limbs, then moved inward from there. "Hey… do we, ehrm... need to talk? Right now, I mean. You can  _not_ want to talk, that's fine and dandy if you don't! Let me know, though. Anytime is fine."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I think we both know."

The bathroom only played host to the sounds of water falling on skin and porcelain for a few lengthy seconds. Then Anna said, "Nope, we don't both know. Only you know. So you'll just have to tell me what the heck you're babbling about."

"Anna…"

"What do you want me to say?" There was hesitation. It wasn't very long, but just enough to be clearly perceived by the showering woman. "That I didn't notice? I noticed. But I mean, it's just how you are, so… what, am I supposed to flip out and throw chairs out the window? Because I won't do that."

Elsa forced her hands to keep lathering the foul-smelling shampoo into her hair, to take at least some focus off what was being discussed. "You… must have questions. Some, at least."

"I do have a question. Are… are you healthy?"

"What?"

"Are you okay the way you are? I mean, is it going to lead to any problems down the road, like… I don't know, early-onset heart disease or something."

"How would  _this_ cause heart disease?!"

"I don't know! Just trying to get a sense of things, and you're not helping!"

"Alright, alright," she grumbled, then realised the question - however ridiculous - still hadn't been answered. "Yes, I'm perfectly healthy. This isn't going to cause me to randomly misplace one of my arms or something, Anna. No worries."

"Then… then that's my question. That's the only one I need to ask."

"You can't b-"

"Tell me what you want to tell me," Anna pressed ahead, voice only a tiny bit sullen. "Or don't. I'm listening, either way. But please don't think I actually need to know. This is your body, not mine."

Elsa took that in, staring at the showerhead as it sent droplets rolling along her body. Her ghastly, unnatural, inconvenient body. "You… I can't believe how well you're taking this. Feeling what you felt last night, most people would run for the hills."

"I'm not most people. Really, I'm fifteen per cent more awesome."

"Oh, are you?"

"Clearly."

Taking that in as well, Elsa finally said, "Probably the easiest way would be to just show you. But that's… yes, probably something for another t-"

The shower curtain rustled as Anna stepped back into the shower. She had been almost entirely dry, but in a matter of seconds was just as damp and glistening as Elsa.

"Oh, what on earth are you doing?" Elsa squeaked, hands sliding to cover her most sensitive areas as she determinedly kept her gaze up. "You just finished in here, and now you'll have to start all over agai-"

"Don't," Anna breathed softly, parting Elsa's hands from her with her own. Then she gradually lowered herself down to a squatting position.

"Really, now!" Elsa blustered, knowing her newest shade of crimson would show up very clearly on satellite imagery. "D-do you m-mind?!"

But the redness wasn't due to arousal. This was not that sort of moment in her life.

"It really doesn't look that different," Anna told her in a detached voice, obviously more focused on trying to quantify the data streaming into her brain instead of making any random judgements. Or being frisky. "Um, I mean, it is different, but I don't, um, find it unappealing… even though I've never seen anything exactly… okay, there's probably nothing I can say that you haven't already heard or thought. But yeah, your body is definitely nothing to be ashamed of, okay?"

"My embarrassing deformity is nothing to be ashamed of? Hah. Wish I could believe that."

"It's not." The finger that passed over Elsa gently threatened to turn this  _into_ that sort of moment - one both of them would find incredible, but she was presently too focused on how Anna really felt upon seeing the abomination that her heredity had bestowed upon her poor, unsuspecting body.

"Anna… don't, not right now."

"Just wanna get a feel for it," Anna told her earnestly, frowning slightly. "But… you're right, I'm touching without asking, that's kinda presumptuous."

"No, just… this isn't about touching, it's about understanding."

"Touch is a sense, Elsa. I wanted to know how it felt to help me… y'know. Process. I wasn't trying to… do anything. Sorry."

Both fell silent again, not knowing what else to say that wouldn't reignite sad thought patterns. Anna tilted her head from side to side, reached to touch again but thought better of her curiosity and stopped. Elsa had finally made it clear to the younger woman that this was not something she wanted poked and prodded. Especially not in the way Anna had done it a moment ago.

"So… um, not that I'm trying to sound rude, but what is this condition called?"

"No, that's not rude." She was still staring. Elsa wanted her to stop, but would also much rather she get this part over and done with in one go, which required her to keep looking for a time. "Um… depends on who you ask. Most say 'clitoromegaly' or 'macroclitoris'. That's just how it is now, though."

"Now?" That caught Anna's attention, and she finally looked up at Elsa, crimson hair plastered to her skull and neck. "What do you mean?"

Finally unable to stand the examination any longer, Elsa turned away and paced as far away from Anna as possible - which was only another step in their limited space, really. This was a prepared speech she had almost entirely forgotten in the many years since she was last forced to give it.

Almost.

"I'm intersexed. Or I was. Obviously I still am, a bit, but my point being… there was a corrective surgery shortly after my birth in which they attempted to make my… ambiguous genitalia fit a certain standard of aesthetic so that I would be readily accepted as female from that day forward. And it worked… more or less. That is, until people get a good, long look, and then they know something's amiss."

When Anna's hand touched her shoulder, she pulled away forcefully. "I'm- okay, so I've heard of this before, but I never had any reason to do deep research. Are you saying you… were both genders, or what? And I swear to God, I'm not trying to sound like an idiot or be mean to you, I just don't know."

"It's fine."

"Elsa-"

"I wasn't really both genders. I wasn't really  _either_ gender; I was my own, a unique one with unique bits to match. Elsa-gender. But no matter how much progress we've made as a species in other areas of higher thought, we still mostly adhere to the tried-and-true binary. Especially with babies. They saw, rightly so, that I more fit with the female archetype than the male, and tried to force me into that box by brutally shoving me inside so that the 'unacceptable' bits broke off and fell away. The surgery gave every outward appearance of being a success, and everything was fine. For a while."

"For a while?"

"When I tripped headlong into puberty," she went on shakily as she picked up a bottle of facial scrub and squeezed a drop into her hands, "hormones were flooding my system, you know how it is at that age. I started asking Mother why all these strange urges were filling me. Why…  _it_ was getting larger all of a sudden. Then, when I…"

The sobs came from nowhere, and this time she did not pull away from Anna's hand, did not protest when the arms slid around her and a soft front pressed into her back, when a kiss graced her wet shoulder. Elsa's hands slid around Anna's arms, and the gritty texture of the scrub made the gesture sting them both as much as the words Elsa had been trying to expel.

"I'm sorry," Anna said in a voice full of strain. "Y-you don't have to tell me any more, I'm r-really sorry I made you bring all this up again, God…"

"No. No, it's alright." Elsa took another deep breath and pushed herself to go on. "Then, I noticed that even though I had hips and breasts, was becoming a woman, I also… found hair beginning to grow in places where women do not get hair. It was significantly more sparse than the usual places, it's true, but still. I did not then, nor shall I ever, want a beard."

Another sympathetic kiss on her shoulder.

"The specialist we saw recommended two treatments. The first was a specific type of birth control implant, which would regulate my testosterone and estrogen levels. That took care of the hair problem, and always has. The second… my mother instantly forbade. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm grateful for that or not, but I've never forgotten the look on her face as she shouted at the doctor in his office, calling him a butcher and a monster, telling him where he could shove his scalpel…"

"He suggested another surgery, didn't he?"

A slight nod, but one Anna could easily feel from her position. "It's one thing to go messing about with a baby who will never remember the procedure or subsequent recovery - which is practically no time at all at that age. To put a young adult through the same thing is… well, possibly necessary depending on how you look at it, but undeniably cruel."

"I don't think it was necessary," Anna whispered.

"Really?" A weak little laugh escaped her throat. "You weren't at all thrown by what you felt last night? Even momentarily? Didn't you want to jerk your hand away from the bizarre  _thing_ you found down there instead of what you were expecting?"

"I was expecting to find out how Elsa felt. And now I know."

"But I'm a-" Another sob she couldn't prevent. She always hoped it would be easier talking about this, but it never was. "I'm a freak of nature."

"Yes, you are. Unique. Special. Extraordinary."

Elsa shook her head, hands reluctantly sliding over the ones gently squeezing her middle. "Anna… you can't know how good it makes me feel to hear you say that, but please don't lie. Don't say you like something you don't."

"Hey, I didn't say I liked it. I'm just getting to know that part of you so I can't make that call yet, but… I do like  _you._ This is just details." Her arms tightened. "You know I'm not going anywhere, right? Anna Snowman isn't a cut-and-run kind of girl, and this wouldn't be reason enough to run even if I were."

"But it's so… I can't think of how to describe it, and that's the problem, isn't it?"

"You do remember that my last partner was a guy, right?" Anna said with a little self-conscious, hesitant laugh. "I've felt way bigger and floppier, um,  _protrusions_ than yours. Also, the rest of you felt and looks normal, so… I mean, I won't try to lie and tell you I didn't react. I know I did. But maybe I wouldn't have if…"

They both froze. Knowing that Anna had not intended to bring up the topic didn't make it any easier to broach. When Elsa opened her mouth to speak, Anna beat her to it.

"This isn't something we need to do now."

"Yes, we do. I should have tol-"

"No," she said, gripping Elsa yet more tightly. "No, it's your body, you can say what you want to and not say what you don't. I wasn't trying to… oh wow, I'm so sorry, I j-just meant-"

"You just meant that if I had told you before your hand was there, you'd have had time to mentally prepare. And you aren't wrong; that's how I did things with Ariel. My past partners have been a mixture of both approaches. I never know… how do you bring up something like this?"

"I'm sorry I reacted," Anna told her in a shaky voice. "Don't be mad. Please, please don't hate me, I tried not to but I did, and now I think I made you feel like you weren't okay but you are okay, so p-please don't be sad, I love you so much and I can't stand the thought of you thinking about yourself that way!"

"No, no," Elsa said, her own words choked and stilted from the effort to hold back tears. "Y-you're doing your best, and I understand, and it means more to me than you'll ever…"

They both slowed to a halt in the same instant.

"You…"

By the way her arms locked, Elsa could tell Anna wanted to let go of her and run out of the bathroom, but she was also terrified of the consequences of such a reaction. Especially given the current topic.

"Okay," Elsa began in a quiet, even voice. "It's early and you're feeling a bit… stressed, what with last night. You're not yourself."

"Elsa-"

"You get this one time.  _Once._ If you ever say that to me again, you had better mean it or so help me-"

"But maybe this time I did m…" Anna trailed off. There was no good way she could finish. No  _wise_ way, no productive or rational way.

Elsa turned and embraced the woman back this time, and instantly Anna's face was pressing into her neck, trying to hide, trying to also reinforce her caring and need. Clutching hands slid up backs, breathing heightened.

"If… I make statements, can you just nod or shake your head if you agree?" A nod. "We care about each other quite a lot now." A nod. "We…  _have love_ for each other, of some variety." A nod. "So maybe when you said, erhm, what you said, you just meant you care for me. And that's okay if you did. It w-would also be okay if you meant more, but in a moment like this when we were both upset, and talking about other things that are sensitive issues, it's… there's no way I could hold you to that, and I won't even if you insist I do. So... can we table that for the time being?"

It was slower to come this time, but there was another nod.

"It's alright," Elsa soothed her, even though they were both trembling. For good measure, she kissed the crown of her head. "We're alright. Now go and get dried off. Again."

Another nod. This time, however, Anna also pulled back and looked up into Elsa's eyes. It took all of her willpower to return the gaze, but return it she did.

"You are beautiful. All of you."

"Stop," she sighed.

"No, no getting out of this part. I mean… well, to be honest, I've always kind of thought lady parts weren't that pretty anyway. Just my personal opinion!" she went on when Elsa's eyebrows raised, and then they both smiled bashfully. "Probably because I was all super-straight then. Closeted… whatever. My point is, yours doesn't, uh, look any better or worse than any other ones I've seen. Maybe that won't help anything, probably just going to make you ask what you're even doing with a wacko like me, but… I'm being completely and brutally honest, not trying to butter you up or anything like that, okay? You look fine to me. I was just surprised because I've never seen or felt someone like you before, not because it's anything bad." Then she kind of shrugged and looked away. "Shutting up now."

"Message received," Elsa half-chuckled. "And very much appreciated. Now, out you go so we can finish and be off."

Anna nodded, left a tiny kiss on Elsa's nose, and stepped back out of the shower.

Of course, the moment they were separated, the words floated right back into the front of Elsa's brain and stayed there:  _I love you so much._

That was one complication they most certainly did not need at this point.

~ o ~

The Froilands, plus one, enjoyed a pleasant enough brunch with Sir Jørstad. Anna took to the somewhat thin Norwegian-style pancakes ( _pannekaker_ ) with great relish, though she managed to keep her manners in check enough to not spill syrup and lingonberries all down her front. Elsa's stomach was still in knots from earlier that morning, so she mostly stuck to sipping her coffee and listening to the idle chatter between her parents and the old man.

Sir Magne Jørstad had a long and successful career with the Norwegian government. As a young boy, he had been a caddy for another equally-stuffy official during his heyday, whom advised him to join the military when he came of age. That was what he used as a springboard to enter politics, as so many had done before him. Now, he simply collected a pension and went to ribbon-cutting ceremonies or charity fundraisers, the rest of his time allotted for pursuing leisure activities with old friends. It was a simple, dull, and pleasant life.

For whatever reason, Anna was very fascinated by the notion of his wife owning a small knitting shop, and asked him question after question. Obviously the business aspect of it appealed to her, but why she would ever need to know anything about the world of yarn and oversized needles, she couldn't begin to fathom. Still, it seemed to make Anna happy, which was all that mattered in the end.

Following brunch, the two executives went on a brief tour of Bygdøy, at first simply taking in the scenery and later stopping in at the  _Vikingskipshuset_ , a museum full of ancient Viking vessels that had been discovered in the Oslo fjords and points beyond. Anna wanted to see some of the other museums but there simply wasn't time, and they were both beginning to tire from all the walking. On their way home, Elsa pointed out an ice cream shop where she had been forced to throw her vanilla cone at a boy who wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Did you know? Even then?"

"Hm?" Elsa asked distractedly as they rolled up to a stoplight.

"That you didn't like boys."

"Ah. Suppose I did. I mean, I like them well enough… at a distance. Just never wanted to snog one."

Anna nodded, leaning against the window. "Just wonder about things sometimes."

"Such as?"

"Such as how I can be enough for you. Especially when I've never been attracted to women before." Fidgeting with the pale pink blouse she had finally settled on, she said in a more subdued voice, "What does that say about me? That I went all these years being perfectly content as a straight girl, and then you come along and… everything goes nuts. Was I always bi? Was I just fooling myself, or… I mean, I just figured if I was going to crush on a girl, it would have happened before now."

"Don't drive yourself up a wall about it. Trust me."

"But you hear all that stuff about sexuality being 'a spectrum' and everything, and that's all well and good for  _other_ people, because you know you like boys. Always have. Seriously, I never ever had one stray gay thought before I met you! So… so what's the deal?"

Elsa had to smirk. Not that she believed what she was about to say, but the opportunity was too good to resist. "Perhaps I'm just so irresistible that you never stood a chance."

Then, to her alarm, Anna glanced sideways bashfully. Whoops.

"C-come off it, you know I'm joking!"

"You are irresistible, though. Really. I… not that I tried to fight it very hard, but I did try, at least long enough to figure out what I want. But the whole time, there you were, being cool and smart and sophisticated, and looking like fucking sex on a plate."

At that, Elsa nearly drove off the road.

"I think in the early days, I was just sort of… looking up to you, maybe? It wasn't instantly attraction for me, not a sexual attraction. But always deeper, like a spiritual connection. The physical part only showed up once I realised how you felt about me."

"So that day, in your office… I swayed your opinion?"

"No, it's more like you, um, helped something click into place that wasn't fitting right before. Like maybe, if I had already been an established lesbian or whatever, I'd have instantly known I wanted you, but I wasn't, so I was sitting around and thinking, 'why does it feel like we've been besties for a thousand years?' Stuff like that."

Snickering to herself, Elsa turned the car gently down a smaller lane. "Then I'm sorry you hadn't officially been 'established' as an officer in the Lesbian Legionnaires. Would have made things easier."

"It would have," she laughed, though hers was more subdued. "Not that we can change that now, or even should. The past is in the past. And the future… well."

When her hand fell to Elsa's knee and squeezed gently, she nearly careened into a lamppost that time. White-knuckling on the steering wheel, she kept her focus straight ahead as she snapped, "Alright, our current conversation needs to end before we wind up in traction! You are…  _so_ distracting!"

"In a good way?"

"In a  _bad_ way! In a  _very bad way!"_

The mocking laughter made it clear to Elsa that she was not being taken seriously anymore.

~ o ~

That evening passed without incident. Another glorious Froiland dinner of pheasant (actual  _pheasant)_ with leeks and root vegetables, idle chatter and gossip that meant little to the non-Norwegians. Elsa currently counted herself as American, being that she had lived there for so long now, and therefore was only marginally more interested than Anna, who made a good show of nodding and pretending to care.

Afterward, the two of them opted to spend a few hours on Anna's bed watching various television instead of having more serious talks or extended make-out sessions. Everything had become very tense lately and those activities seemed to only make things worse. A break was in order.

Not that there wasn't hand-holding and cuddling. The occasional peck on the cheek. When Elsa decided the time had come to leave, they shared a heated kiss just inside the door but Anna shoved her back and told her to get the hell out. This earned her a chivalrous kiss on the hand which left the redhead blushing the same shade as her roots as she finally succeeded in evicting her hostess.

The next day, both of them went into the North Mountain offices. Elsa made quick introductions, Anna sat in on a meeting, they politely listened to water cooler gossip. Showed off a Build-A-Bird to Mr. Porter, who was delighted like a child at Christmas. One of the young execs made a clumsy pass at Anna, which earned him a pat on the head and a polite declination. At least he had the good grace to apologise and go about his business afterward, unlike certain blowhards who chased Belle in accounting.

Throughout all of these activities, Elsa tried ardently not to allow her brain to wander. There were too many topics up in the air right now for her to brood over, and brooding was counterproductive. Still, she couldn't help but think them once in a while. How could Anna accept her body that readily? Did she really…  _love_ her? How did she feel in return? More importantly, had those words only been meant as a reassurance that she did not hate her or think any less of her, and they merely spilled out in a form that promised more than she intended? It was a spider's web of entangling notions. Until she could either unravel it or burn it, it was best to focus on simpler things, more pleasant things.

Like having Anna in Norway. Torpedoes be damned, that was the most pleasant thing of all.

That afternoon, they skipped out of work a few minutes early (being the boss and on salary, Elsa could come and go as she pleased, and Anna didn't even technically work there) and went south to Huk, a beach that overlooked the fjords. They spent a while confusing onlookers by walking up and down the sand in their business-casual outfits with sensible shoes in hand, fingers interlaced with each other's and talking about nothing. Then they made their way to Hukodden  _Strandrestaurant_ for a few shrimp and a couple of beers; nothing too substantial that would ruin their appetites for whatever nonsense Chef Pabbie would have conjured up for their supper. When Elsa ordered a second beer, Anna canceled her order for her.

"You're driving home, dumbass," Anna told her as the waitress walked away, rolling her eyes and cursing in Norwegian about indecisive foreigners. "I'm not going to let you get completely shitfaced and then have to be the one to navigate this crazy peninsula."

"I have GPS, silly," Elsa laughed lightly, tapping the end of Anna's nose with the mouth of her bottle. When the resolute face didn't change, she sighed. "Alright, you've a point. Thank you for being sensible."

"Better," Anna said airily as she sipped at her own. "One is already one too many, you know, but you can handle your liquor pretty well, so…"

"Something of which you are quite aware, eh?"

At that, Anna smiled slightly. "Very aware-y."

"Did you… really just do that kindergarten rhyming thing? Just now?"

"Maaaybe, baby." That earned her a hearty facepalm. "Thanks for letting me see this, though, it's really beautiful. Did you come here a lot growing up?"

"Not often, but sometimes."

"Not a beach bunny, huh?" Anna shrugged, leaning her forearms against the whitewashed railing. "Me and a few friends made a trip down to the Keys for Spring Break once. That was a blast."

Elsa allowed herself a small smile. A young and carefree Anna appealed to her in a way she couldn't explain; not that the current Anna was all that world-weary, but seeing those happy moments amplified… she would give anything to experience that.

"Perhaps we'll come back here over the weekend, this time dressed for the occasion. You can frolic in the water, and I'll try to get through some ebook or other that I've forgotten I was reading."

"Noooo, come on, Elsa! Friends don't let friends swim alone!"

After that, Anna continued to cajole and goad Elsa until she relented to dipping a toe into the sea, at least. By that time, they had polished off their shrimp and beverages and were ready to face another evening of Fun With The Froilands.

This dinner did not go quite so well as the last had. The Statsråd was in a black mood due to some law or other being rejected, one which he apparently had a personal stake in the outcome. As a result, he was snappish with both Elsa and his wife, even cutting off Anna in mid-sentence at one point. Elsa rose to her feet and leaned forward on the table, clearly insinuating that if he were to be so rude to her again, there would be no hiding their clandestine martial art from being exposed during the ensuing impromptu sparring match. While he did not apologise, he was the picture of cold politeness toward their guest for the remainder of the meal.

"Ought to knock that cinder block of a head of his clear off his shoulders," Elsa muttered as they tromped upstairs to their rooms.

"Leave it alone," Anna soothed her. "He's pissed and he's blowing off steam. It happens, and it didn't really offend me that much."

"How could it not have? He was an absolute bastard!"

"You forgot who my ex-husband is," Anna snorted. When she saw that didn't exactly cheer her friend up, she frowned and bumped her hip against Elsa's. "Come on, it's fine. He's an old leopard who doesn't feel like changing his spots. I'm not gonna lie and say the way he talks to people is okay, but it is what it is. Getting yourself all tense is only going to make  _you_ tense, not change anything about him."

Though she wanted to continue ranting and raving, Elsa was forced to admit defeat. "You're absolutely right, of course. Oh, but I do wish I could give him a swift kick up the-"

Her thought was cut off by a ping from her wristphone. Glancing at the display, she saw it was a secure caller with no name attached - but one she recognised.

"I'll just take this in my room," Elsa whispered, picking up her pace. "See you in yours after?"

"Oh! I- okay!" Anna hastened to say after the retreating form of her partner.

Once inside, Elsa made quick work of drawing the curtains and checking to make sure no servants were lurking in the bathroom or closet. Then she hastily answered before the call went to voicemail.

"Yes?"

"There you are! Was starting to think you were screening me, and that wouldn't do at all, would it?"

"Yzma," she breathed, full of both relief and fear. "What's… I mean, how are things?"

"Well enough, well enough. God is on his throne, and so am I. Can you hear the echo?"

At those words - and the accompanying mental image - Elsa felt her skin crawling. "Please tell me you're only joking."

"Not a bit. I've been waiting for my prune cocktail to kick in for a few minutes already, so I figured now is as good a time as any to give you an update."

"Really, can you be any more disgus…" But then that last word flashed through Elsa's mind again. "An update? You mean… there's something to report?"

Slowly, the image of Yzma's wizened face stretched into a smile. "Our baby is operational. The fate of North Mountain is once again in your hands."

_\- To Be Continued -_


	17. Value-Added Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about to drop.
> 
> Everything is about
> 
> to
> 
> drop.
> 
> A lot of you aren't going to be satisfied with this chapter. You're going to want to read the next one immediately afterward, and for that, I'm sorry. However. Storytelling is a sacred art form, and I am but a slave to its devices. (Please don't kill me)
> 
> Towards the end of this chapter, the setting for that scene was somewhat inspired by Requ's "A Formal Arrangement", which I had been catching up with when I wrote this chapter. Also, I find myself hearing Dido's "Sand In My Shoes" in my head after the start of this chap, heh heh.
> 
> Jessex

"You… are you certain?"

Instantly, Yzma's wicked gleam was replaced by a blank stare. "No. This is actually Avon calling. Do you need any pore cleanser made from authentic Celtic sea salt?"

"Yzma!"

"Well, you ask a silly question, you have to expect a silly answer, dunce cap!'

Sighing irritably, Elsa perched on the edge of her bed and kicked off her shoes, finding that there was still a bit of sand in the bottom of them. A brief smile flashed across her face as she thought of how the sand had got there. While she paced into the bathroom to pour the grains down the sink, she turned her mind back to more pressing matters and away from being besotted. "Fine, fine. So what do you mean, it's ready? Have you deployed?"

"Of course not. You do remember me saying that it might not even take a full twenty-four hours for the Feds to pick up on the breach, don't you? We're not going forward until you have  _everything_ in place and give me the go-ahead."

"Yes, yes, that's right. Sorry." Elsa took a deep breath and plunked down on the edge of the bathtub, tossing the shoes casually into her bedroom before leaning her forehead on her now-free palm. "Alright. Let's take stock. On their side, they have...  _acting_ control of the company, and incriminating photos of myself and Anna, who is a business asset at present. On ours, I'm technically the figurehead holding the reins, and we can now ferret out the doctored documents and the unauthorised buyouts. Also, might we be able to trace the origin of the text with the photo?"

"Ooh, I don't think you shared this particular detail before. Pretty unscrupulous of them. Just… how incriminating are we talking, here?"

"Not  _that_ incriminating!"

Chuckling, Yzma tapped her wrist a few times, then looked up. "I assume that, in this case, you won't mind if I hack your inbox? It'll work much better than if you forwarded the text."

"Fine, whatever needs be done."

"Oh. That's almost boring. Why are you worried about this getting out?"

Trying not to show just how alarmed she was at the speed with which Yzma had infiltrated her personal correspondence, Elsa took a breath to answer. "It's not so much the content, or that I'm in the closet. You know I've maintained 'open secret' status for some time now. It's that… we're in business dealings currently; this going public would make it seem as if I can't keep my personal life separate from business. Also, it shows the CEO of a multinational conglomerate behaving like a six-year-old, but that's of lesser concern. Once this whole matter is settled and our companies are no longer tied together, it wouldn't hurt me much if it got out."

At that admission, one of Yzma's eyebrows went up. "Really? Well, that's a change-up for you, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"As long as I've known you, despite this age we live in, you've treated your sexuality as this huge burden you have to drag around behind you like Jacob Marley's chains. You've never expressed any interest in men, yet you act like dating women makes you somehow 'bad'. Like I've told you before, I could never date a woman but don't see why that should stop you. Kind of drives me up a wall."

"Poor you," Elsa sighed exasperatedly. "Sorry if trying to slowly unlearn my family's brainwashing has been  _inconvenient_ for you, Yzma."

"Apology accepted," she replied archly. "But if you really are ready to start trying to be… less prudish, I'm happy for you, ducky."

"Oh. That's… thank you."

"Yes, good. Anyway, it shouldn't be much trouble to trace the source of this, possibly even identify the device that took the photo. I'll tally it with the rest of your debt."

"Yes, about that; how do you want me to wire the credit?"

"Oh, no," Yzma laughed. "You'll give it to me in cold, hard cash. Doesn't have to be soon, but your  _earliest_ convenience would be appreciated."

"Of course, of course. When I'm back in the country. Which… I suppose should be sooner rather than later. Anna already has a ticket for Sunday; I might as well do the same."

Instantly, Yzma's painted eyebrows were an inch higher. "Anna is there? With you? In Norway?"

"She is."

"Well."

Elsa pursed her lips for a moment. "Well, what?"

"Well, that's a long way to go for someone who's worried about whether or not a picture of them swapping spit gets leaked to the press. She must really fancy you."

"Must you be so crude?! We did not- well, we did, but that isn't how I would… you can't just say something like- when...  _urgh!"_

"Seriously, when are you going to get a wristphone with an HD camera? I can't tell whether you're blushing or not."

"DAMN YOU!"

Yzma was still cackling when Elsa ended the call abruptly.

~ o ~

"So… that's our plan now?"

Elsa nodded as she allowed her legs to dangle over the edge of Anna's bed, toes just skimming the carpet. She noticed Anna's didn't quite reach. "If you're alright with me coming back so soon. Hopefully by the time anyone realises I'm not still in Europe, we'll have all our ducks in a row to take down the Consortium in one fell swoop."

"Good, good." Then, with a tiny smirk, Anna raised her hands and drummed her fingertips together rhythmically. "Eeexcellent."

"Eh?"

"Oh, come on. You've never watched a single  _Simpsons_ rerun?"

"A what?"

"Seriously?!" Anna gaped at her for a few more seconds, then sighed and shook her head. "That's right, you 'don't care for the telly.' Sorry."

Elsa felt her eyes narrow. "Did you… just make fun of my accent?"

"Good heavens, did I?" Anna went on in the same Mary Poppins voice. "Dear me, what an awful thing to have done! Terribly sorry, what what!"

"Oi! See if I let  _you_ anywhere near my 'what what' tonight!"

With an affronted gasp, Anna smacked her lightly on the arm, and both of them laughed easily, grateful for the release in dramatic tension. Then Anna flopped backward onto the bed, hair spilling out behind her. "Ugh, this is going to suck soon, isn't it?"

"Soon, yes. But not right now. We still have another day of peace ahead of us."

"Yeah, tomorrow. And then Sunday we're on a plane, and then we land and we'll have to worry about killing our careers or killing somebody else's."

"Hey, you can't think that way," said Elsa as she leaned back as well, leaning on an elbow so she could look at her lover. "They relinquished their rights when they instigated this nasty chain of events. They were the ones who thought they were above the law. We're only ensuring they get their comeuppance."

"You're right, I know. Still feel bad." Then the bridge of her nose crinkled as she smiled. "And you wonder why I made fun of your accent when you say things like 'comeuppance' as if they're real words."

Instead of rising to the jibe, Elsa leaned in and left a light kiss on Anna's nose that left her blinking and sputtering. "There are other words I could think of amongst my vocabulary. Such as…"

With her lips on Anna's ear, she offered a few choice phrases that did more than make Anna blink and sputter.

~ o ~

Over an early breakfast the next morning, Elsa informed her parents that she would be going back with Anna for a few days to oversee something to do with Snowman Home Robotics. It was a plausible enough excuse, especially because it held a truth within the vagueness. Her father asked if there was no one else she could trust with the task so she wouldn't have to "needlessly jump back and forth across the ocean so much," but when she reminded him what happened last time she trusted lesser tasks to people within the company, he ceded the point and dropped the subject.

For the next few hours, the three women (sans Yngve) partook in all the shopping that Bygdøy had to offer. Anna bought some woefully touristy things such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and garish sunglasses, and also made use of Mrs. Froiland's expertise in navigating which prices were too steep for the fashion choices she was making. By the time lunch rolled around, Elsa had a new pinstripe suit and an airy summer dress, and Anna had some pleated skirts, pencil skirts, a flouncy blouse that showed too much cleavage and a pair of jeans that she swore were tailored for her personally - and Elsa tried not to agree too emphatically in front of her mother.

In fact, she tried to pretend she hardly knew Anna in front of her mother. That was the most difficult thing of all: to act like mere acquaintances, since the line between good friends and lovers was conspicuously hazy to her where Anna was involved. Anything that seemed overly fond would serve as confirmation to the matriarch, which she would rather not risk as her visit was drawing to a close much sooner than she had expected.

Especially in light of that cryptic warning. She wouldn't put it past her mother to have hired someone to dig into Anna's past. It was true that she had been taking Anna at face value, never once questioning that she was who she said she was, going with her instincts that she was a pure and honest soul. There had never been the slightest indication that she should do otherwise. Despite this new seed of doubt, Elsa made a firm and unwavering choice not to water it. If it turned out the old cow's instincts were sharper, she'd be just the tiniest bit more hurt than if she'd been expecting the betrayal. However, if she stopped trusting Anna… they had no future, no matter what turned up or didn't. That was unacceptable. Better to take a gamble on trust than to throw everything away out of fear.

Sadly, of course, there was no sense in parading that in front of her mother. They would simply maintain the charade for a few more scant hours and then be done with it. Simple - and not something that offended Anna. If she had been uncomfortable with keeping their relationship under wraps, Elsa would have risked her parents' ire in a heartbeat. It wasn't as if there was that much respect left to lose.

For a somewhat late lunch, the three of them took a small boat from the  _Rådhusbrygga_ pier in Oslo to a tiny island named Dyna, on which perched a small lighthouse. Elsa had been there once about a decade ago, and had sailed past it a few times since. Anna, of course, was entirely enchanted by not just the diminutive size of it, but its rustic architecture and old world charm.

"I'm confused," she said to the two of them when they were still about halfway there. "I thought… we were going to lunch. You can't be telling me this dinky place is a  _restaurant,_ right?!"

"Just so," Ivy said with a faint smile. "Not open to the public, mind; reservation only. The Froiland name has got us the entire place to ourselves tonight - though I won't tell you some of the games we had to bump from the guest list to manage it. That would be gauche."

When her mother's back was turned, Elsa rolled her eyes.

They docked and made their way inside, and Elsa smiled at the whimsically simple blue-and-white theme of the interior. Very nautical. A pair of dimple-cheeked waitresses pulled out their chairs for them, then one did the same for Mrs. Froiland while the other took her mink stole that was wholly inappropriate for the weather.

It was well worth the fuss and voyage to watch Anna gaze around at their surroundings, freckles aglow. She sipped at her Chardonnay and creamy fish soup in equal turn, listened to the thick accents of the waitstaff with the same star-struck expression as she had to the vendors and tailors in town. By the time the baked lingcod was brought out, the three of them had more or less broken the ice, diverging from the "safe" topics of work and the weather into politics, religion, recent global disasters and tabloid scandals. The daughter of one of the Kardashians was apparently pregnant with a fifth child and couldn't pin down the father between several well-known male celebrities, according to Anna. Privately, Elsa wondered why she would know such a thing in the first place, let alone bother to retain the factoid.

Then came the foible.

All three of them were a bit tipsy by the time they were pecking at liqueur-marinated fruit with a refreshing sorbet - most of all Ivy, with Anna in a close second. Elsa had exercised moderation, thinking she might have need of a clear head. As it turned out…

"You take that back, he is not a stick in the mud!"

"He is!" Anna laughed, and Ivy laughed along with her, even slapping the tabletop. "A grade-A stick in grade-A mud! When's the last time he wore shorts and a t-shirt?"

"Never, I daresay!" Mrs. Froiland tittered.

"Okay," Anna said, leaning in a little too far, lopsided smile almost rude. "Lemme have it, you know you want to. What's this staring contest thing him and Elsie are always doing?"

This already promised to be a dangerous line of questioning, but instead of putting a stop to it, she found herself saying, "Elsie? Are you really so smashed you can't pronounce my name anymore?"

"Oh, don't pay it any mind," Ivy crowed as if there had been no interruption. "Like I said, they're a couple of… of monkeys! Wee monkeys, slapping at each other - oh gosh, the thought is beautiful!"

"Elsangutan," Anna said in a stage whisper, and they both erupted into raucous laughter.

"Really!" Elsa burst out, her cheeks red from both spirits and shame. "Can you two  _please_ try to control yourselves?! The staff are enjoying the show!"

It was true; at least two or three of the employees of Dyna Fyr were whispering to each other behind their hands from a respectful distance away, barely repressing their smiles and snorts. It wasn't exactly proper work etiquette, but how on earth could Elsa blame them when her companions were carrying on in this fashion?

One of them even had the cheek to wink at her when she noticed Elsa looking. That was more than enough to snap her attention back to the drunkards with whom she was associated.

"Nah, but old Youngvee-" here Anna mispronounced the Statsråd's name, possibly on purpose "-kept acting like they were about to throw down or something. That was weird." Then she turned to Elsa. "It was weird, okay? Do you guys have your own secret fight club, like in the classic Brad Pitt movie?"

"Don't be silly," Ivy snorted into a spoonful of sorbet. "As if those hooligans have anything on the Froilands - and I've seen that movie _,_  I know whereof I speak!"

The only indication Elsa was unnerved by this thread of conversation was the droplet of wine that splashed over the side of her glass and onto the tablecloth. She'd have felt guilty if she actually directed the blame at herself.

 _"Mother,_ " she hissed pointedly, "care to remember yourself, alright?"

"Oh, fooh, Elsa!"

"Excuse me? 'Fooh'?"

"Fooh! Fooh, fooh,  _fooh!"_

Anna was giggling again. "You tell her, sister! Everybody plays the fooh!"

"Honestly, if talk were to get out about this-"

"So stuffy," her mother sighed, still wiping tears of laughter away. "Aren't your kind supposed to be free-spirited? You're about the furthest thing from it I've ever seen - always have been, ever since you were a girl!"

"You and I both know that's His Royal Rigidness's doing," Elsa growled. "And will you  _stop laughing_ , already?!"

"Wait," Anna slurred, smile slipping a notch. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Even prior to sixth form, she was the busiest little bee, always studying, always refusing to go out and play with the other girls. I tried to encourage her to go out, socialise her more, but then the moment my husband got home he was firing question after question at her, reprimanding her for the way she stood and spoke, and drilling those awful battle tactics into her hea-"

"No, not any of that. You said 'her kind'. What'd you mean by that?"

Elsa was unsure which horrible development caused her more dread: the precarious nature of the  _Froilandkunst_ secret at present, or the conversation she was very sure was about to happen, no matter how hard she tried to stop it.

"Okay!" Elsa said brightly, clapping her hands together. "I'm all for another dessert - and perhaps a coffee! Black coffee, yes? Doesn't that sound just the ticket?"

"Dear, come now," Ivy said with a placating frown and tilt of her head. "Surely you're aware of… how Elsa is, there's no big secret."

"And how is she?" When nobody answered, Anna let out a forced humourless laugh. "Hey, if it's no big secret, then why can't we say what it is?"

Which "no big secret" were they talking about? Not that Elsa wanted any of them paraded in front of the whole island. "Anna-"

"Very well, then," Ivy said tersely. "My daughter is homosexual. Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that the point of this infantile needling?"

With an exaggerated shrug, Anna said, "There! Now, was that so hard? So anyway, by her 'kind', you mean gays - who are supposed to, what, prance down the street in rainbow capes while singing pieces from  _Rent?"_

"Anna!"

"No, I'm sorry, Elsa! Because your kind is  _human_ kind! How you're born and who you choose to love doesn't make any difference in your personality type, and I can't  _stand_ hearing anybody say-"

"But this isn't just 'anybody', it's my  _mother!"_ Elsa snapped, pulse in her throat. "Yes, I do appreciate the well-intentioned gesture in sticking up for my sexuality, but you have  _no right_  to speak to her this way, Anna! You were more rude than was necessary, and insulting to an elder!"

"Thank you, dear," Ivy harrumphed.

Instantly, Elsa rounded on her mother. "Oh, don't act so wounded! With all of the 'secrets' you almost dropped this evening, it's a wonder they let you be a cabinet member's wife! I surely hope he doesn't let slip anything of a sensitive nature on the biannual occasion you two fornicate!"

While Anna looked surprised and slightly ashamed, Ivy was livid, mouth agape and shaking as if she had been struck across the face. "Young lady!"

"I am  _not_ a  _young anything!_ I am almost thirty years old, I am the head of a multinational conglomerate, and both of you are treating me like a kindergartener who's just said her first dirty word! Back… off!"

The entire restaurant was silent now; kitchens, staff, patrons. Unable to stand the sight of them any longer, Elsa stood and stormed out onto the deck, hands clutching at the railing and leaning over the side, staring down into the deep blue water.

Why had she consented to this miserable trial? Her girlfriend - or whatever Anna was to her - cohabitating with not just herself, but also spending the week with her parents! This was a plot from a bad sketch comedy if ever there were one. It would have been kinder on all parties involved if she had simply insisted that Anna stay in the hotel. Or caught the next flight home in the morning.

Then again, they had engaged in a very important discussion during this short stay. Dismissing that would be lying to herself: she was glad Anna had come. This all-too-public argument was simply the price to be paid for being in Norway. Even without the young Snowman's intrusion, she probably would have got into it with her mother sooner or later.

Everything seemed to lead back to the way she hid her true feelings for fear of backlash. Perhaps it truly was time she started being more open about her relationships. Relationship, singular. She didn't want to start over ever again. It would be Anna or it would be nothing.

"Want one?"

Elsa's head came up fast to see who was interrupting her thoughts. It was one of the bedimpled waitresses, the one with short blonde hair. "Sorry?"

"If you don't smoke, it's okay," she hedged in an accented voice, pulling the disposable electronic cigarette back uncertainly.

"I don't." But she took it, twirling it between her fingers. "Thank you."

"You know," the woman went on slowly, "your family, they love you very much."

"Who? Oh, my mother and Anna." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, despite herself, and she found that she had no desire to correct the stranger. Family is more than blood relations. "They do. Crap at showing it, perhaps. But they do."

"All families are that way," she replied with a laugh as she flicked her own cigarette on, pulling on it and causing the back end to glow dimly.

"Mmm; family is everything, I suppose. What's your name?"

Following a plume of vapour, she smirked slightly as she answered, "Antje."

"Antje, that's lovely. You… aren't Norwegian."

"Half," she said, turning to lean back against the railing. "Half-German. Why?"

"No reason." The silence slipped past for a few more seconds. "You… think I should go back in there?"

"Am I such bad company?"

At that accusation, Elsa was stricken. "Goodness, no - I would never say so, how could you think that?" But when she noticed Antje was grinning with ill-suppressed humour, she pouted. "You're having a laugh at my expense. Cheers, really, that's just… splendid."

"Sorry. I'm a… I believe the English term is 'jerkface'? Yes, no?"

They both started laughing, and still where when she heard someone clearing their throat. Elsa looked around to see Anna standing there, both hands on her hips.

"Am I interrupting your new habit?"

Elsa glanced down at the cigarette. "Oh! Oh, no, she only offered to be polite." But when she went to hand it back to the waitress, she found she was tapping their wristphones together. A tiny chirruping noise signaled that she had a new contact.

"If you want to add to your family anytime soon," Antje said as she turned off her cigarette and winked cheekily, turning to head back inside.

"Well," Anna said under her breath while she passed. "Nice to meet you, too. Thanks for introducing us, Elsa."

"I… but…" She looked down at her wristphone and the random tube of nicotine-laced vapour. "What just happened here?"

"You got hit on. It's not a catastrophic event."

Then Elsa was looking up at Anna and blushing slightly, frowning. "No, but all we were doing was having a pleasant conversation, and- do you have any idea how long it's been since someone gave me their number? Years and years!"

"Do you want me to come back after your ego has returned to it's normal, less-inflated size?"

"My ego? No, it…" Then Elsa grimaced. "You're winding me up. Everybody's doing that to me today. Is it that much fun to watch the Glacier get all wobbly like a jellyfish?"

"Maybe," Anna said with a begrudging smile. But then it fell slightly. "But yeah… I did come out here to apologise. Not for what I said, but how I said it."

"Forget about it," Elsa sighed, tucking the cigarette into a pocket. "Then I'd have to apologise for overreacting and storming out like a child throwing a tantrum, and it'll just go on from there. We're a bit sloshed; let's call it even?"

The smile that lit up Anna's face was only slightly tempered by guilt. "Fine by me. And in return for you being so generous, I'll pretend not to notice you haven't deleted the waitress's contact info yet."

Elsa missed a step and had to throw out a hand for Anna to steady her. Her cheeks were slightly pink when they went back inside.

~ o ~

"Okay, open your eyes."

The moment Elsa's hands fell away from said eyes, Anna pulled them open… and found herself in a room filled with pinks and yellows, velvet and satin. Cheery floral prints ran along the walls.

"Whoa. Are… you sure you grew up in… this?"

Chuckling, Elsa eased the door closed behind herself with her heel, leaning back against it to watch Anna take in her surroundings. "Reasonably. Why is that so surprising?"

"Because," she breathed, pacing to the canopy bed and ghosting a hand down one of the posts. "You're so… business-like. I mean, yeah, I get that you own a business and all, but you're kind of really into that. Sleek and professional, refinement. This… this is a little girl dreamland."

"Really?" Elsa shrugged as she traced a finger along the roof of the victorian dollhouse. It still came almost to her waist, even at adult height. "Not such a dreamland for this little girl. Part of me wanted to live in a less…  _pink_ room. Ah, well."

"I've played with that part recently." When Elsa looked scandalised, Anna laughed and went back to her, laying a hand on her arm. "Sorry, I'm sorry, but… I'm starting to think it's kind of funny now."

"My condition is  _funny?!"_

She took a half-step back at the bite in her lover's tone. "N-not really - I mean, I know it probably really made you sad sometimes, and confused! But… I mean, it's like your body always knew you couldn't grow up to be completely straight, and not even surgery could change that. A kind of… I don't know. Biological prediction."

"Hmm." Elsa tried not to smile, she really did. It was impossible. "Your brain is a bit off, you know. Could do with a tune-up."

"You offering to tweak me? In your old room?"

For some reason, Elsa felt her face instantly burning. The very thought of it, here, with Anna… but she fought that away. "You're the one who wanted to see my old things before we left, and you're ignoring the room to do things we can attend to once we get back. Obviously you have a screw or two loose up there."

"Tell me to shut up or something," Anna said with a pained smile. "I think I'm making you madder."

"I'm not mad. Just wondering what I want with you in the first place." But instead of further torturing the younger exec, she merely led her over toward the dresser. "Let's find other things to make fun of me about besides a botched gender assignment surgery."

"I wasn't- come on," Anna whined.

"Oh look, ancient perfume."

Still pouting, Anna accepted the bottle Elsa pushed into her hands. She unscrewed the cap and spritzed a bit onto her wrist, then made a face. "Wow, that's kind of…"

"Cloying? Noxious?"

"I was just going to say 'too sweet' but okay, yeah. You've never worn anything like this."

"Because I developed taste," Elsa went on, shifting the bottles on the dresser. To Martha's credit, not a one of them was dusty. "Try… ah, this one might be less offensive."

Anna tried it out on her other wrist and raised it to her nose, smiling appreciatively. "Hmm… still not something I'd really say matches the kind of woman you are now, but… yeah. Yeah, I like this a lot more. It's kind of exciting, or something."

"From my secondary school years, I was getting a bit adventurous. Never so much as to take away from my studies, but… at that time, I thought I wanted  _boys_ to notice me. That belief didn't hold out for too many years."

"Oh? I thought you were always lesbian."

"I was. But there was a time when I tried to let societal pressure - and parental pressure - convince me that it would be an easier road for me if I liked men. True enough, but not one I was meant to walk."

Then Anna was holding her wrist, the second one, under Elsa's nose. Indescribably, a powerful urge to throw her back onto the bed thundered through her veins. Something about the scent of her youth mingling with the scent of her lover was intoxicating. With great effort, she managed to keep her hands to herself.

"You okay?"

"I… I'm fine. Look here, jewellery."

They passed a pleasant ten minutes digging through Elsa's old drawers, finding a few prize-winning papers and old toys, some of them broken but most of them barely touched. An old sweetheart training brassiere with a little bow in the middle brought gales of laughter to Anna. In the closet, there were an unprecedented number of fencing foils and martial arts equipment.

"A girl can't have hobbies?" Elsa hedged.

"This is more than a hobby or two," Anna breathed, withdrawing a padded staff, clearly for use in practice situations only. Then she pulled out another one that was not for practice at all. "Um… so, what did you study? What belt did you get?"

"My… school didn't have belts. Oh look, my spring formal dress!"

"No, no," Anna needled, smirking slightly. "You're not getting out of this so easily. Show me your moves."

"Er… what?"

Anna rolled her eyes, throwing the non-padded staff to Elsa. "Let's see what you got. I took a little self-defense class when I was in junior high. I mean, it wasn't such a big deal as all this stuff  _you_ have, but I was actually really good at it before I graduated."

For some reason, the idea of sparring with Anna appealed to the deeply-buried whimsical nature of her personality. Also, to the predatory instincts she normally only loosed in the boardroom. Automatically offering a slight bow of the head, Elsa took up a very loose defensive stance, staff at the ready. "Well, well. And what happened after? Did you decide not to continue on?"

"Pretty much. I mastered the class. Thought about going into a more specialised martial art after that, but yeah, by then my attention was back on class. And boys, always boys."

"Boys, eh? Did the boys teach you -  _this?!"_

The staff lashed out, intentionally aimed at the top of Anna's ear. Even if it connected, the worst it would do is leave a tiny red welt. However, it did not connect - the target slid to one side, her own staff knocking Elsa's up and away, then spinning forward toward Elsa's exposed throat.

"Whup!" Elsa grunted as she dropped onto her back as the end of the weapon whizzed overhead, twirling her staff forward so that it levered between Anna's legs and sent her sprawling backward into the closet, arms and legs tangling with old dresses and knocking a shoe tree over.

 _"Oh!"_ Elsa gasped, dropping her staff instantly as she sprinted forward. "Anna, Christ, I was only- are- are you alright?!"

Laughing, Anna almost managed to stand, then fell backward again. "Oops! I… well, I am a little dizzy, but the problem is all these clothes aren't helping me get out of here! A little help?"

Elsa helped her up, but then she knocked her head against the clothes rod, which came loose from its mounting bracket on the wall and dumped itself, every dress and garment bag, and both women onto the floor in one mad heap.

"Dammit!" Anna half-grunted, half-laughed as she scrabbled upward against the wall. "What a terrible idea, I can't believe I'm such a dipwad!"

"You're not entirely to blame," Elsa admitted as she pushed herself upward an inch at a time, hand gripping the doorknob. "I did trip you, knowing this was where you would end up if I did."

"Yeah. Stinker." When Elsa merely stuck out her tongue, Anna laughed and said, "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever see you do somethi… some…"

"Something like what?"

"Like… what… is this?"

With great care, Elsa stepped closer to where Anna was picking at the paint on the back of the wall, which she had been using to brace herself to stand. "Good lord, what on earth are you doing?!"

"No, this doesn't feel right," Anna muttered as her fingernails gouged into the white paint. "Can't you see it? The color's a little off - like just barely, and… and there's a bump here…"

"Bump?" Brow furrowing, Elsa stepped in and ran her hand over the same spot. "Yes, and… it crinkles a bit. That really is odd. What do you think-"

"I think there's something here." Smoothing both hands over the entire area, she then held them diagonally from each other. "These are the corners. It's about the size of a sheet of paper, right? Help me… maybe if we-"

"Hang on, I'll just get a nail file!"

Anna sighed as Elsa sprang from the pool of clothing and did a quick jog over to her old dresser. "What for? My nails aren't going to be  _that_ bad just from-"

"Here." When she produced the pointed metal implement, breathing slightly faster from her quick and sudden exertion, Anna only raised an eyebrow. "To get at what's behind the paint, you daftie!"

"Oh? Ohhh, right, okay! That makes a lot more sense."

Together, they made quick work of chipping away at the paint along the edges. As Elsa had begun to suspect, it really was some sort of sheet of paper - but what she found when they finally prised it loose and turned it around felt like a suckerpunch to the stomach.

"My God," she breathed, hand at her mouth. "It's… mother and father."

"What?" Anna panted as she followed Elsa out of the closet, tossing the nail file onto the side table. Her eyes screwed up as they finally got a better look at their unearthed treasure. "Doesn't look much like them to me - especially your father. Since when did he ever have brown hair?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry - the Statsråd is my adoptive stepfather. This was my biological father. Goodness, haven't thought about him in… oh, a long time."

"Is that why he's so, so… you know? Because you weren't his daughter?"

At that, Elsa had to roll her eyes. "That wasn't why. It was because I wasn't male. All he'd ever been taught during his own upbringing was to pass along the family legacy to his firstborn son. Therefore, when we found out my mother couldn't have any more children… well, he channeled that energy into me. Can't say it was entirely wasted, or that I didn't appreciate it, either."

"Really? You appreciated him being an overbearing jerkface?"

"It made me who I am."

Anna nodded vaguely as she weighed that in her mind, eyes focused on the people on the page. "I do like who you are, so… maybe you're right."

"Why was it stuck to the back of the closet, though? Perhaps I… yes, of course. Mother didn't like me thinking about him because he was out of our lives, so… I suppose I hid it there for safe-keeping because she threatened to burn it if I didn't stop asking about him, which I usually did when Yngve was being especially vile. Must have been five or six at the time."

"Something about this is bothering me."

That startled Elsa from her reverie - not only the statement, but the odd, numbed quality with which Anna had offered it. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"What did you say his name was?" When Elsa didn't respond, she prodded the photo again.

"I didn't, it's- gosh." A weak laugh issued from her throat. "My apologies, it's just been so many years since I even thought of him." Her voice grew more distant as the memory edged back into her mind. "Kevin? He was a foreigner…"

"Colin?"

Elsa snapped her fingers in jubilation. "Yes, that was it! Colin. Haven't even thought of him in years and years." Then Elsa looked up, brow knitting. "Wait… how did y-"

"This isn't very funny, Elsa."

"Pardon?"

"I said, it isn't funny!" Anna snapped, pushing her shoulder. It wasn't particularly hard or even remotely painful, just enough to get her undivided attention. "Why would you do something like this? What's the point? If it's because of what happened at the restaurant, well, I can tell you right now I think you have a pretty twisted sense of justice!"

"What are you on about?" Elsa said in a firmer tone, though she felt no less puzzled than before. "Slow down and make your meaning clear, or I'm not going to…"

Her voice fell away when Anna stepped right up to her, the toes of their shoes knocking together and noses an inch apart, entire semblance taut with ill-suppressed rage, eyes roiling with energy. To punctuate her next line, she raised the old photo up again to hold next to her face.

_"Why would you fake a picture of your mother with my father?!"_

_\- To Be Continued -_


	18. Best of Breed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today (meaning the day I wrote this, not the day it's being posted) I have had a chai latte for the first time in months. It is the fuel of the gods. LET'S DO THIS.
> 
> Some of you saw it coming, the reveal at the end of last chapter. To those of you, nice work! To the rest of you, that really isn't a judgement, just that some people are better at predicting plotlines than others. No biggie. Just amused me to watch the guesses start pouring in, heh heh. Also to a couple of my reviewers: it did always say "icest" in the story description. I've been building to this reveal for a while now, it's almost a relief to finally get it written! Only one person so far had ever mentioned it in a review, and that was months ago, haha.
> 
> A bit more NSFW content in this chapter, but not exactly the same as last chapter, so… anyway. Also, sorry for taking so long to post it, but y'know. Life happens (and so does NaNoWriMo).
> 
> Trigger warning: vomit (it's not graphic).
> 
> Jessex

"Your f…  _your_ father?"

"Yes!" Anna growled with a roll of her eyes. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognise him just because he's clean-shaven in the picture?! Come on, explain this!"

Slowly at first, then gaining in speed, Elsa shook her head from side to side as she took a step back. "What are you saying? This isn't your father - I've seen him, in that painting in your…"

Then her mind revived the memory, summoned the portrait and held it alongside the eight-by-ten glossy dangling from Anna's shaking fingers. Their faces weren't all that dissimilar. Several years down the road, her Colin could turn into… Anna's Colin. That was why his visage had seemed so familiar all those many days ago in the managerial office of Snowman Home Robotics.

"Colin."

"Yes, Colin, you, you…" Anna's chest rose and fell as she tried to catch hold of some stray thought that was more empowering than confusing. "So yeah, how long did it take you to get this set up? Did you start planning it the moment you landed in Norway? Before, maybe? How did you even  _get_ a picture of my dad at this age? I don't have any, and I'm his freaking daughter!"

"Anna, stop, please," Elsa whispered as she folded her arms over her chest self-consciously. "You aren't making any sense! As you said to me a moment to go, there wouldn't be any point in doing what you're suggesting, so why would you think I-"

"Because there's no other explanation! Either you decided to play the meanest practical joke you could think up on me, or… or this is one of the most  _ridiculous_ coincidences ever! Like, Bermuda Triangle material! And that's impossible, okay?!"

"Two men named Colin," Elsa was breathing, a cold feeling creeping up from her elbows into her chest, heart thudding loudly. "Both of them look very much the same, save for a beard. This is like that episode of  _Star Trek_ …"

"Star what? Oh, forget it! You're talking about ancient television - which I thought you didn't watch  _anyway_ \- and I'm talking about our lives, and you being a- a horrible bitch!"

Stung and startled by that word being flung at her, Elsa raised both eyebrows. "Anna, I understand that you're upset, but please, don't say things you'll regret later."

"Oh yeah? How am I going to regret them? Only a horrible bitch would- would try to do this to somebody, Elsa! Would try to convince me that… that you and I… that w-we…"

Finally, it clicked for both of them. The ludicrousness of the face next to Ivy Froiland in the old photo had been enough insulation that the ramifications didn't hit home at first. If indeed there was no foul play at work, no staggering coincidence, no parallel universes or other crazy science fiction schemes, there was but one explanation for them both recognising the man.

For them both recognising him as their father.

For them both having  _the same_ father.

"Oh," Elsa breathed.

"OH?!" Anna exploded, arms wide. "She says 'oh', like we just found out the McRib is back! Oh boy! Gee golly whiz, Mr Krabs! What the hell is  _wrong_ with you?! How could you  _do_  this?!"

All Elsa could do was stare at the picture clutched in the soft, perfect hand. It wasn't possible. This was a nightmare. One of her hands raised up and pinched herself extremely hard on the bicep, but when the sharp pain subsided, she was still standing in the room from her youth with Anna Snowman glaring down at her, cheeks flushed and teeth clenched.

"Say something!" Anna snapped. "You… you have to say something, tell me why you're playing such a bad prank on me! Or is it literally just because you can?"

"You're my s…" Words had come into her throat, but already she knew she never wanted to say one of them. Never, never ever. Not after everything they had done together.

 _What we've done!_ her mind exploded.  _With my very own… oh, Christ._ Instantly, her stomach churned and her vision swam, and she felt her legs give way and she was colliding with the rug, shaking, the room tilting at impossible angles, Anna growing like a mythical beanstalk above her, needles of light jabbing into her eyes-

"Elsa?" Anna whispered softly, voice still angry but with a touch of uncertainty. "God, you can't just cover up one joke in poor taste with another one, that's like adding shit to a shit sandwich."

"No, Anna… no…"

"I don't believe you! I don't! You can faint if you want, but it's not going to make me believe this!" As if to punctuate her words, she reached up and tore the picture vertically down the middle, throwing the pieces over her shoulder. "Ha, ha, very funny! Do better next time!"

"How ironic," Elsa half-laughed, half-cried, clawing toward her old bed but unable to make it while the floor was still lurching this way and that. Only later would she also realise the dramatic irony of Anna rending that picture in half. "Something I always wished for… wh-when I was little, and here it is, and now I… I don't want it, can't handle it…"

"You always wished to piss off your girlfriend?" Anna scoffed. "Dream big, Froiland."

 _Girlfriend._ That was ugly in this moment. Less than ten minutes ago, she would have gone to great lengths to hear Anna refer to her that way. A balm for the soul. Now?

_You can't be her girlfriend. You're already something else to her. You know what it is._

" _No!"_  Elsa burst out, clinging to the bedpost she had finally reached, barely noticing Anna flinch at her volume. "No, I can't accept it - I won't. I WON'T, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Stop it, this performance is so beneath you! Your pathetic gag is over!"

Elsa spared a glance at Anna, seeing the light shining behind her, accenting strands of coppery hair, searing both of them with its sheen. Beautiful, flawless Anna. Delicious Anna that she had sampled, indulged herself in on more than one occasion. Gone further than she ought to have done. Deep down in the pit of her heart, she had known that she shouldn't. She just hadn't quite known  _why._

They shared the gaze with each other, and the transformation slowly took root in Anna's features as she stopped clinging to the lie she had been so desperately trying to sell to both of them, to the anger that was much more clean and unimpeachable versus the terror that was taking its place.

"Stop it," she repeated weakly. "Stop it, Elsa. It's not funny."

"No, it's not," Elsa admitted in a monotone.

"It's not funny at all. It's… it's not… you're not… don't say it, don't you fucking  _say it_ , okay?!"

"I won't," Elsa promised, her throat tight, her palms clammy as she clung to the bedpost. "I'll never say it, if that's what you want. Never. I don't want to, either."

Now Anna was falling to her knees, and Elsa winced when she heard her connect with the floor. That would probably bruise. Hand over hand, she crawled over to stare into Elsa's eyes, at her nose and chin and cheekbones. Looking for something similar. Looking for something familiar.

"Y-you know," she croaked as her eyes went unfocused, "I… if it's there… I'm not finding it. Other than we're both about the same skin tone, I guess."

"Anna…"

Then she was laying her head in Elsa's lap, curling into a ball. "I… this can't be happening, can it? Did you know? You should have known, you've seen your father…"

"Only in pictures," Elsa whispered as her hand alighted on Anna's shoulder. "And not even those in years and years. I… you do understand, if I had- if there was any…"

"But I'm- we're together," Anna babbled. "Not like that, but like… like we are. But how can we? That's not right, that's not how things are supposed to work. You were supposed to braid my hair and tell me bedtime stories every night, and tuck me in, and tell me about the boys you date so I won't make the same mistake when I start dating boys, y- you should have been there to beat Hans up for me! You sh-should have been there if y… and why weren't you? What happened, how did this happen, how did we end up on opposite sides of the planet?"

"We didn't, Anna. We ended up in Arendopolis. Together."

"NO, stop! Not together, w… oh God, what did we do to each other?"

Elsa's hands tightened around Anna, and she felt her start to fight them off but then give in entirely, felt nails rake over the back of one hand as she snatched for it, took it up, squeezed it harder than she had ever done. There were a lot of things she wanted to say. A lot of things she never wanted to say again, wanted to banish from her memory. That, unfortunately, would be completely impossible.

What  _could_ she say?

"Anna…"

She could say that.

"Elsa," Anna breathed, voice so fragile. "Wh… what happens now?"

"Hell if I know. This is beyond my realm of expertise."

"You'd tell me, wouldn't you? If this was a joke, or… if you knew? I think you would, b-but so many things I thought just turned out to be way wrong, s-so I-"

"Of course I would," she interrupted. No sense in letting her believe she could ever conceal something like this any longer than the half-instant they had just left in the rearview mirror.

"Why do I feel… sick, and happy, and sad, and… angry? At your mom, I guess. At my dad- or… what do we call him?" A little cry of anguish slipped from her throat. "No, I w-want him to stay my dad! I just want him to be only  _my_ dad, and not to mess that up in my head, I- I don't want that to change!"

"I'm so sorry!" Elsa choked out, wrapping her arms around Anna from behind, and though fists rained down on her arms they were so weak that it was like being beaten with a foam bat. "You loved him so much, and I'm sure nothing about that will change, alright? As my mum told me, he wasn't ready for a family when he was with her, they just had a bit of a… oh, but you can't want to hear that right now, I'm sorry, n-nevermind any of that, I'm sorry!"

"Tell me. It's… you can tell me." Then there was a shifting as Anna turned and hugged her around the middle, face buried against her ribs. It was muffled, but Elsa clearly heard her admit the worst aspect of this secret's emergence. "He left you. I got to keep him for my whole childhood, but he left you behind. I c-can take it, whatever you were going to say."

After weighing that for as long as she could possibly stall, Elsa could only give Anna what she wanted - or perhaps the more honest way to look at it was, what Anna had deemed necessary. That was all she had ever been able to do. "My mother and m- Colin. They had a summer fling. He was doing the European tour bit, seeing all of the sights before he refocused on his career. Neither one entertained any delusions about their meeting being more than a chance encounter, an exploration of the other's culture. I… Christ, do you want me to keep finding ways to say they slept together and then he moved on? I d-don't want to explain this, not now I know who he is to you! If you'd asked me before, I'd have gladly thrown it out as old news and neither of us would have cared!"

"I do care," Anna growled against Elsa. "B-because… because I feel really hurt that he kept this from me. Kept  _you_ from me, and look what happened, look where we are!"

"Listen." When Elsa put a hand on the back of Anna's hair, she looked up, eyes red and bleary, and Elsa had to force herself not to react. "Listen… you and I can rewind to the day we met, and… just be friends. Or we can try to do the things we would have if we had been raised together, if you like; I h-haven't had that, either. Might be nice doing each other's hair up and the like. Or we could never see each other again if that's what must happen. But I don't want you deciding that right now, this… we're both going to have to think about it for a while."

"What are you saying? Do… do you not w-want me anymore?"

They both looked shocked to hear those words coming from the younger woman's throat, mouths open and eyes blinking. "I…"

"You're right," Anna breathed, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "You're right, I can't believe I said that. What the hell, Anna?"

"No, no," Elsa said. "There's no point in being angry with each other about anything we say tonight. That wouldn't be fair. We both get a free pass."

"It's pretty unusual, yeah." For a second, Anna giggled, and Elsa smiled in return. Then the humour was gone as if it had never come.

"Do you still want me?"

"You know I do." Both of Anna's eyes slid closed. "The last thing I f-found out about you didn't stop me, and this doesn't, either. It should. This one  _really_  should, but…"

"But it isn't powerful enough. For me, either."

The admission was like the cracking of a whip in the cozy little room. Elsa felt like she needed a long shower. Of fire. Shower of fire to burn off every last layer of filth they had left on each other's souls. At the same time, however… there was Anna, still stunningly gorgeous, still in her arms and wanting her.

"Then… where do we go from here?"

Slowly, Elsa leaned in, her breath falling onto Anna's chin, both of them shaking like leaves. But this time, their lips did not meet; their foreheads did, and several seconds were spent amid ragged breathing and anxiety tinged with urgent need, as if a ribbon-thin universe separated them.

"Can we?" Anna asked.

"I don't know. This isn't right… but it feels like it is."

"It does, doesn't it?" Her voice tightened as she reached up and grasped both sides of Elsa's neck. "You and I, together? Nothing has ever felt more right to me in my entire life. I don't care how that makes me sound, I… maybe I'm disgusting. Maybe I'd take a little 'disgusting' if it meant being with you."

"I could accept that," Elsa echoed with a slight nod. "God, how I want to! But if it hurt you for people to find out, I would n-never forgive myself."

"You wouldn't have to, because I'd forgive you. Problem solved."

Elsa whimpered and kissed Anna then, briefly, cautiously. This time, it wasn't as pure and beautiful as it had been before, and she hated every atom in her body, hated the cruel fates that forced them into this situation. But she also knew it felt just as intoxicating. The sob of anguish told her that Anna felt much the same, and so they tried another kiss, longer and more full of passion. The same result: bitterness.

"Is it broken?" Elsa breathed. "What we had?"

"One more time."

Again, they kissed… and it was easier. The knowledge of how wrong their actions were did not vanish, the guilt did not relocate or change. But the desire and affection shouted those facets down. Their lips slid over each other's more, continued on for seconds, minutes. Need welled up in their bodies as Anna pushed Elsa backward into the carpet, straddled one of her legs and clutched at her scalp as their mouths united in a frenzy of dark passion.

"Oh yeah," Anna breathed with a sick little laugh once they parted. "It's working just fine."

"No," Elsa said shakily. "It's not just fine, but you're right; we are not entirely beyond repair."

Nodding her assent, Anna made a little half-movement, as if to kiss her again or to retreat. Then, instead, she simply laid her head down on the elder woman's chest. "My Elsa."

"My Anna," she whispered as her hand slid into place on the younger woman's back.

"This is completely unbelievable. I… I want to run away from this, away from you and what you mean now, but it's like… there's nowhere else to run but  _to_ you. So how does that work? Are we trapped in an infinite loop? Are we going to be like magnets that keep spinning because they can't stick in any… any way… but they're still drawn to each other?"

"What if… I mean, nobody else has figured out who we are yet, either. We could-" Her throat had become so dry that she had to clear it twice to continue. "We could act like we never found this out."

Anna laughed weakly. "Oh, yeah. Just forget about it."

"I'm serious."

"Why should we? Why should we hang onto this if… if we have to give it up one day?"

"Who says we do?"

"Everybody." Anna sniffled. "It's not right. Isn't it illegal? If it's not, that's kind of a shocker. And anyway, nobody will ever accept our relationship if they find out. And most religions think it's a sin - not just a bad idea, but actually a thing that means we'll go to Hell!"

"Never really believed in Hell myself. And if that's your reasoning, then we're already well on our way, both being women."

A small nod and roll of the eyes. "Good point."

"I'm sorry," Elsa bleated, her emotions finally breaking through her cold countenance. "I- you only came into my life to ask my amoral board members to leave off ruining yours, and I f-forced you to go deeper, to live with me, to t-touch me, and… this is all my fault! I'm so horrible!"

"No," Anna breathed, raising up to run an affectionate hand along the side of Elsa's face, thumb idly rubbing at her cheek when it came to rest. "No, no, don't do that. I accepted the invitation. When I found out you had feelings, I wanted to explore them instead of being smart and saying 'Sorry, I'm straight,' which means… I wanted this. Since I've never even thought about dating anything but guys before, it would have been  _so easy_ to walk away. But nope. No, I saw something in you I wanted, and I went for it, and that's…" Tears leaked down her cheeks. "It might kill us, but I don't regret it, okay?"

Elsa stared up at her for a long moment, all of her own features drawn taut. "You can't mean all this. That… you and I really are… and yet you feel this way still?"

A little shrug. "I don't know. Maybe tomorrow I won't be able to handle it, but right now? You're all I care about in the whole goddamn world, Elsa. This just makes me care about you more."

The next kiss was far less reticent.

~ o ~

An hour or more passed with them on Elsa's floor. They spoke about small things, comforted each other. Compared memories. There wasn't much to compare, really, but Elsa listened to Anna talk about her father and thought back on the man her mother had described. There were very few similarities - primarily because Elsa had rarely asked.

By unspoken agreement, at some point they both stood, hugged each other a final time, and then made their way toward bed to catch what little sleep they could before the flight. Separately. At the last moment, Elsa picked up the pieces of the photograph before she walked out. It wouldn't do to simply leave them lying around for anyone to find.

Alas, neither of them were prone to sleep. Hideous thoughts and implications stung Elsa's heart. She felt largely responsible; she was the elder of the two of them, the most experienced… and, no matter how passively she had manifested her sexuality, the established lesbian. If either of them had the foresight to realise there was something different about their connection, it should have been her. Logically, rationally, they were both blameless, but it didn't hold back the guilt. What kind of monster couldn't recognise her own flesh and blood?

Flesh in which she had indulged herself. That made her both aroused and nauseated. The knowledge soured the memories; not as much as it should, but more than she wished it did. The only greater misfortune that could have befallen them would be discovering they were twins, or that one of them was dying. "Unfair" didn't begin to touch this situation.

She was sick in the bathroom twice.

When it got to be close to four in the morning, Elsa got up from staring at the ceiling uselessly and slipped out of her room, hoping to escape the swirling morass of her thoughts. She could hear Anna crying through the door, so she hurried along to give the distraught exec some much-needed space and made her way downstairs to ask Pabbie to whip up some tea if he was awake. If not, she'd do it herself.

Instead, she found Martha and her mother seated around the small pine kitchen table. It had been a literal decade since Elsa had even glimpsed it; on most of her visits, meals and even tea were confined to the dining room itself, or out on the veranda. Finding her mother there was startling, to say the least.

"Couldn't sleep, either?" Martha asked benignly.

"Not a wink. Suppose I'm nervous about… about how my life will play out once I land."

Ivy was merely staring at her passively. Surely she must look frightful. Her mother, meanwhile, looked no better than she had in front of the wetbar, but no worse, either.

"Really?" she asked. The question held a thousand implications. Elsa didn't answer.

"Perhaps I'll just nip over here and make Young Miss a cuppa," Martha said cautiously, patting Ivy on the arm as she rose and scooted around the table. The way their kitchen was set up, the stove was far enough away that if they whispered, the senior staff member likely wouldn't overhear them.

"You don't look like it's just North Mountain troubling you."

Elsa merely nodded, staring down at her hands. The sound of the kettle being placed on a hot burner filled the silence before it died away again. Indecision gnawed at her gut. There were two options open to her, and neither one was particularly appealing.

"Well?"

Still without speaking, Elsa reached into the pocket of her robe and withdrew the two halves of the photo, laying them on the tabletop. Ivy had barely touched one to unfold it when she let it go.

"Martha? Leave us. I'll see to the kettle."

Curiosity flickered across Martha's gently-wrinkled features, but then she smiled. "As you wish, Ma'am." And then she had ducked out a side door, leaving them alone.

"Fine. So you managed to salvage one of them. What of it?"

"You knew, didn't you?"

"No." Ivy took a deep breath, running a hand down her face as she stared at nothing in particular. "I suspected, nothing more. Told you as much."

"Why couldn't you at least  _tell me_ what you suspected? I… yes, alright, you figured it out… from her last name, I suspect?" Her mother nodded. "So what were you waiting for?"

"Confirmation."

"From where?"

Then she smoothed out the pieces of the photo and lined them up properly, hands holding them flat. "A friend in the states, someone Yngve introduced me to. They work in the government and have access to the census files. It's not even technically illegal, since birth announcements are a matter of public record, you know."

"And you were just going to let m-"

"I wanted to be sure! If she really… if Anna Snowman truly is your si-"

" _Stop."_ At the steel in Elsa's tone, her mother fell silent. "Don't say that. You can't, you haven't the right. You and he… you kept us apart, don't you  _dare_ say what she is to me!"

The woman's face had lightened a shade, but her voice remained just as impassive. "Fine. It won't change anything, but I'll stay away from the word if it's problematic for you. In your shoes, I can't imagine myself behaving any different. Am I to take it by your violent reaction that the relationship between you two was... more than platonic?"

The answer died in Elsa's throat. Denying it would be childish and petty, but admitting it out loud, especially given her mother's history of feelings on the general topic - let  _alone_ this recent revelation…

"Oh, this is my fault," she whispered. "At the very least, I ought to have told you my suspicion, but I honestly thought it would be better if I had evidence to back it up!"

"Mother… did you know? That Anna existed?"

"More or less. Not by name, but I knew Colin had married. He told me."

"Told you? When was this?"

"You would have been about five or six, I believe? He… called to check in on you, as he had done a few times a year. We made small talk for a bit before h-he informed me that he had taken a fiancée. We both agreed that, as his child support payments were largely unnecessary due to our wealth, and because it would complicate matters, that we should have no further contact." A fingertip traced the contours of the young man's face on the page beneath her palm. "We both missed each other dearly; we had become… something like friends, strange as it may sound. Of course, the Statsråd never much cared for that arrangement, which I think is understandable; he had adopted you, taken you on as his own flesh and blood, treated you as such. Whether or not that was a good thing is open to debate. The biological father remaining in the picture… it frustrated him, though he rarely brought it up. But I knew. That made it easier to agree that Colin would vanish from our lives."

Anger flared and faded within Elsa as she processed all of that. "That… wasn't easy for you, was it? Letting him go. I'd always assumed it had been because you were married to someone else."

Ivy shrugged. "Not sure what he saw in me to begin with, other than a passing fancy. Neither of us expected the birth control to fail; by all rights, we were just consenting to a liaison and nothing more. But, when Yngve and I looked at your form on the monitor… I knew what my decision would be. You had managed to come into being despite my countermeasures; you deserved to live. And before you ask, Colin never tried to dissuade me or asked me to rethink my decision, not once. He wasn't a bad person. Just not the man for me."

"I see."

"Please don't be angry, dear. We all did what we thought was best; Yngve took you as his own, Colin looked to his own family, and I relegated him to my past." She looked at the picture again. "How… did you ever hide this from me for so long?"

"It was in the closet," Elsa said quietly, not seeing how telling her made any difference. "Anna found it. She found our father."

At that, her mother's eyebrows lifted into her hair. "That's almost storybook, isn't it?"

"Mother, what should I do? I know what I want to do, but it doesn't seem like either of us would survive it. You can't know; yes, you've always thought my mind is warped, that the way I live my life isn't proper, but I am telling you with a very clear mind, with memories over  _weeks_ of knowing her, that I never want to be apart from Anna again. I just… how I proceed, what our relationship becomes, it's going to have to be correct the first time. I couldn't bear it if we ruined things now."

The silence stretched out for a time as Ivy stared down at the photo, as she leaned back in her chair and covered her hand with her mouth. Before she found her voice again, the kettle began to whistle, and Elsa waved her back to her seat as she hopped up to busy her hands. The boiling water deluged over the bag in the teacup, swirling outward from it a light shade of brown that deepened the more she poured, until it was nearly black. Something about that was poetic. Ariel would have been able to come up with a phrase that would adequately describe the scene and the associated emotions. In an old life.

As she returned to the table, Ivy announced without fanfare, "You're in love with her."

Elsa nearly dumped the scalding tea in her lap, but managed to steady her hands.

"You don't have to say it; I could tell. I've been pretending I don't for both your sakes. Couldn't face that possibility, not with Anna's family tree up in the air, but… it was also so I didn't make you uncomfortable by letting on."

"Mother… do you think I'm revolting?"

The longest pause yet. A brief war played out behind her mother's tired eyes before she allowed herself to speak again. "No. Your actions, even without knowing… who Miss Snowman is, those are hard for me to stomach. But I've never thought  _you_ were revolting on the whole. I hope that's been clear."

"It has. Doesn't make me much happier, but it helps."

"You didn't mean for this to happen, I know," she sighed. "My guess is you two were close before Anna came to Bygdøy, and therefore even if I had told you that night what my suspicions were, it couldn't have erased what came before."

"It would have stopped… more from developing. But you're right, the news came too late, regardless."

_"Herregud…"_

"You'll never know how sorry I am," Elsa growled without warning, propping up her forehead on her palm as her elbow banged down onto the tabletop. "For this. For what I am, for it leading to this travesty of happenstance, I- it's my whole life, the earmarks are all over this, my dirty hands on her, and I somehow couldn't figure out we weren't just strangers, I should have  _known,_ I-"

"Nonsense, Elsa. I've never thought you were any less human for how you were born or… who you choose to love. You were always my precious angel regardless." A gentle hand smoothed over her own where it lay on the tabletop, but it only made her feel worse. "I was thinking of how truly astounding it is that you two, of all the places you could go, of everyone you could meet… you found each other. That shouldn't be possible, yet she's upstairs right now. Right across from your room - it's like a dream! What I would have given for you to have a little-"

But Ivy had promised not to say that, and she held herself fast. The silence stretched on for almost a minute before Elsa breathed, "I… can't have children, either. I inherited your condition - well, apparently I inherited other oddness that passed you over, but the birthing part is what I meant. So… I can understand why. A second child could have given you a better chance in the genetic lottery, since you lost on me."

"We didn't lose individually; we lost together, as a family. You weren't to blame. Aren't."

"If I had known, I never would have pursued her. I'm not beyond all reason."

"Naturally," Ivy allowed with a rueful little smile. "But that's a branch on the road in our past." Then she drew her hand away and fiddled with them in her lap. "I truly want to tell you to break things off with her, because it turns my stomach, and you can never be happy with people always looking at how you are together as something ghastly and taboo."

"So why don't you? Let me have it, Mother. Tell me I've done something bad and I need to be punished! Be my mum again for a few minutes!"

The pain in her eyes was very real. "I can't. It isn't fair. You're a grown woman who can make her own decisions, and… and you and she… have already been together. You're out of my depth."

"Maybe if I tell you  _how_ we are together, you'll be so disgusted you'll  _have_ to split us up," Elsa whispered desperately as she put the teabag on her saucer, tossing in sugar cubes so violently that they splashed liquid over the side. "Is that what you want? To hear every sordid, intimate detail?"

"Go on, then." No answer, and Ivy gave the blushing daughter well over twenty seconds to find her voice. "Didn't think so."

"But it's beautiful," Elsa finally sobbed out of nowhere through gritted teeth. "Every time I try to think about it as offensive, to convince myself we need to end this whole terrible ordeal, all I can do is marvel at it, cherish it, see us together for the rest of our lives, and that… isn't…  _helping!"_

"She is your s… she is related to you by blood! You can't seriously expect this to turn out well, can you? Heaven above, sometimes you can't have everything you want, no matter how badly you do want it! Be reasonable!"

"I don't just want her, I  _need_ her, Mum! She's everything! How could you and Colin do this to us?! Why couldn't Yngve be my biological father, and then this would never be an issue? Why? Why, why,  _why?!"_

It was then that Ivy finally abandoned her post and rounded the table to pull Elsa into the warmest and most frightened embrace they had shared in many long years. It wasn't anything either of them wanted to remember, but would help them hate the memory of this day far less in the future.

~ o ~

By the time Elsa returned to her rooms to shower and change for the flight, Anna's room was quiet again. She knocked, and only got the response "Go away, Elsa," so she went on with her routine, satisfied that she was at least up and had not done anything drastic.

So her mother knew. All along, these past days during which she and Anna had spent hours flirting with each other, exploring each other's bodies and showering together… it could have been prevented. Now it was too late. They had tainted their relationship before fully understanding its nature.

Finally, she made her way back downstairs, leaving her suitcases stacked neatly outside her door across from Anna's bags. Young Miss Snowman herself was already enjoying breakfast with her parents; Belgian waffles and fresh fruit, milktea. Everyone looked completely and totally normal. Boringly normal. The topic of conversation she had entered during was some actor from yesteryear who had recently passed away, and they were comparing which of their movies they recalled.

A mad urge to strangle the lot of them swelled up in Elsa, but she fought it down and kept a politely disinterested look on her face. This was far preferable to an ugly discussion of genetics and propriety. Therefore, she casually tucked into her grapefruit and waffles and ignored them.

When they gathered in the front hall to leave, Yngve shook Anna's hand and said it was nice to meet her, to which she replied in kind with a sort of ungainly curtsy that did not suit her personality. It was all Elsa could do to keep from giggling at the sight. He then shook Elsa's hand as well before pulling her into a one-armed hug. She had thought this was unusual of the old man… until he spoke.

"You and I have unfinished business from earlier."

"Yes, fine," she hissed back. "Only not in front of my associate."

"Indeed. However… you must return soon so we might settle things."

That was surprising. It wasn't an admission of wrongdoing; of course not. However, it  _was_ a request to further the discussion rather than a command for her to stay out of his house forever, so it was at least an improvement over the circumstances under which she fled last time.

"Of course, Sir.  _Talast_ and good health to you."

" _Ser deg seinare,_  Elsa. Luck with your business dealings."

"Thank you."

Then Martha and Birgit were helping Finn get their bags loaded into the boot. Birgit went back in immediately, but Martha lingered - as Elsa expected she might. Several times, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she simply pulled her into a tight hug, dabbing at her eyes over Elsa's shoulder with an embroidered handkerchief.

"Hate to see you go so soon," she blubbered.

"There there, old girl," Elsa half-chuckled. "You're squeezing the paste out of me."

"Pish-tosh." Martha held her at arm's length and cupped her face. "Oh, dearie. Whatever it is that had you so down in the mouth this morning… I hope you get it sorted soon. Hate to see you moping about."

Elsa shouldn't have been surprised that Martha had picked up on the unpleasant vibes emanating from herself, if not the ones from Anna. "But you can't see me doing it while I'm across the ocean!"

That age-spotted hand came away from Elsa's face to wave such logic aside before patting her shoulder. "Either way, chin up. See you soon, Young Miss."

"Likewise."

Yet as they pulled away from the grand old setting of her childhood, Elsa had an unshakeable feeling that she may not be back for quite some time. If things played out the way she hoped, whom could she possibly trust to stay at the helm afterward? Certainly none of the current board members. Not in a million years - never again. A myriad of tough decisions loomed in her future.

The ride to the Oslo airport was markedly awkward, with both Froiland women and the apparently-related young lady in the car. The topics stayed light, but Elsa still noticed an odd fondness beneath the sorrow in her mother's eyes whenever she looked at Anna. Now that she had confirmed who she was and the worrying and suspicion were in the past, now that Elsa had confided in her just how deeply she cared for the young exec, how could she find any reason to dislike her?

 _Perhaps this will be good for us in the long run,_ Elsa tried to tell herself.  _For my mother to have someone else to fret over and brag about. Depending on how much we can all stand to see each other again once we…_

Once what? Once she decided if she could perpetuate this sin on a daily basis over the rest of her lifetime? Whether they tried to act out some ritual to cleanse themselves of it?

They did not stand at the gate saying goodbyes for very long. Anna's was simple and cordial, a promise to return someday. But their hug lasted a bit longer than it could have. Now that Anna knew Ivy Froiland was a part of her father's past, she couldn't help letting it show that she cherished the woman, that she wanted to learn more about her to perhaps understand the man that had been taken from her life at far too early an age. Ivy just barely kept herself from bawling.

Then she was saying goodbye to Elsa while Anna trudged through security.

"You call," she ordered.

"Of course. Take care, I'll be back soon, alright? Regardless of what we do or don't get settled."

"Good, then. And… take care of your… of her."

"You really want to say it, don't you?" Elsa asked with a very dark laugh. "Call her what she is."

At that, Ivy couldn't help but sigh. "You know how Regina and I get on. She's still living in Scotland with that horse-toothed brute she took up with when she left school, and won't hear a word from me. Not that I'm likely to send one. Forgive me for wishing better for you and Anna."

"I'd like to meet Aunt Regina someday," Elsa sighed restlessly. "But not if she's your mortal enemy."

"Don't be so dramatic." However, it did bring a little smile to the older woman's artificially-perfect features. "Anyway… best get you on that flight."

Elsa made to step away, then turned back and threw her arms around her mother, shivering. They both stood there for a very long time before the daughter whispered, "Can I do this? Can I be what I need to be for her, or… or what I should be? Can I at least be one of those?"

"You'll be whatever the situation calls for," Ivy said in a strangled voice. "If you give it careful enough thought, I think you'll be alright. Just… do call. Anytime."

"I will, I will. Love you, Mum."

" _Ja,_  love you, too. Now off with you."

Then Elsa was herself being scanned with her shoes and carry-on bumping down a conveyor belt. Anna had not waited on the other side; she was likely already finding the gate where they would be boarding. That was fine. They weren't officially together. They weren't officially anything.

But once she was on the other side, stepping back into her shoes and trying to gather up the rest of her things at the same time, cursing the overreaching security for making this awkward moment necessary, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Grande pumpkin chai latte with chocolate soy milk?"

Anna wasn't even looking at her as she held the paper cup out, sipping casually from her own. Still… she had remembered. They had a history from before this unwelcome news had come to light. Elsa didn't think it should be erased or disregarded.

Evidently, Anna didn't think so, either.

_\- To Be Continued -_


	19. Frequent Flyer Miles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY FORKIVERSARY! That's right, it's been exactly one year since my blog was created! Thought I might give you guys a present in the form of a long-overdue update! Hopefully you still care about this story despite my failure to be remotely consistent with updates. In light of that, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Hellyeahpuckentine, who is responsible for my position in this fandom being slightly more significant than it otherwise would have been. Whether or not that's a good thing.
> 
> So by now a lot of you have figured out that this isn't going to be your average Elsanna fic in which they go "Oh well, incest - whoops!" and everything's cool. Nor will it be the kind in which it's a non-stop Angstathon from beginning to end. Since I set out from the beginning with Elsa and Anna as (mostly) mature adults, I wanted them to approach this the way adults would. Or well, adults who are in love with close relations would, haha.
> 
> Also, one of the articles Anna mentions is a real article. Can't post the link here, but if you Google, all shall be revealed. Yes.
> 
> Here's to a year of ridiculousness, and hopefully another year yet to come!
> 
> Jessex

Silence passed between Anna Snowman and Elsa Froiland as they sat in the seats by their gate, twin cups of coffee in their hands. The bagel on the seat between them was cold by the time Anna offered half-of-half of it to Elsa. She took it. It tasted cold and bland, and didn't even have butter, much less lox. She ate every bite.

The better part of an hour passed that way. Once or twice, one of them would turn to say something, squirm, and then turn away again. Without anyone else to serve as a foil for speaking to each other, it seemed conversation was not forthcoming anymore. This was a hurdle they would have to clear, and soon. Yet time kept slipping past with no words. How does one set about repairing a bridge so badly broken?

Their plane boarded. Before the startling revelation of the night before, Elsa had ensured they got seats next to each other, haggling with the airline to move another passenger. Now… it was an ominous prospect. The flight was very long, and they had no choice but to be mere inches from each other for the entire duration. What an ordeal.

As it turned out, however, all of Elsa's worrying was for nothing. They had scarcely seen the "fasten seat belts" lights wink off and felt the plane level out when Anna turned and, ignoring the large man with headphones on her left, leaned in to whisper to Elsa, "So, I did some Googling."

Rolling her eyes, Elsa turned from the screen on the seatback in front of her. To be fair, it was only showing an advert for a soft drink, and this was what she had been hoping for: that they could talk. "Oh dear. Nobody still uses Google."

"Sh-shush," Anna said nervously. "Um… I know it's still kind of awkward to talk about this stuff, or anything at all right now, so should I just, um, send you the link to this article?"

"No!" When she saw someone across the aisle glance over at her, she lowered her voice again. "No, that would… leave a digital paper trail. Just tell me now."

The corner of Anna's mouth twitched up. "Okay. Well, in my research, I came across this phenomenon known as… 'Genetic Sexual Attraction'. There's-"

"Stop," Elsa grunted. "Not sure I really want to hear this."

"Well, you're going to, because this is important, okay?!"

She debated for a moment before nodding. It was. It most certainly was, no matter whether or not sufficient time had passed for her to be able to hear it without her latte and bagel making a reappearance all over the soft drink on the screen. "Fine, what of it?"

"Studies have shown that, in the absence of the Westermarck Effect, people with similar genetic makeup can sometimes feel attraction beyond the familial. This is because of assortative mating, which-"

"Wait, wait, the what effect?"

"It's what they mean when children are raised together, and they see each other as 'siblings' and that's why they don't feel that type of attraction. Westermarck Effect. However, when they  _aren't_ raised together, sometimes - and I swear I'm not making this up - sometimes it's  _more_ likely that they'll be into each other than if they were total strangers. See?"

All at once, Elsa found she was smiling at Anna, a true and real smile. When Anna merely raised her eyebrows to demand a reasoning for this smile, she whispered, "You're adorable when you're studious."

That caused an immediate and profound blush from the younger woman, but she did smile as well. "I j-just thought, um… well, after I stopped freaking out and blubbering, I figured it might be better to do something productive, to see if this had ever happened before. As it turns out…"

"It has? Really, more than once?"

"Lots of times! I bookmarked a few news articles if you want to see them later, about couples who met and then found out they were related months or years later. Sometimes they already knew they were related and became couples anyway, but um, those seemed less relevant."

Mulling this information over for a few moments, Elsa decided that it was much better to at least entertain this notion - to explore the possibility that, just maybe, what had happened to them wasn't entirely outside the realm of the natural. Therefore, her next move was to pick up Anna's hand and trap it between her own possessively. The action looked even more predatory to her now, her hands on such a delicate creature. She did her best to ignore that misgiving.

"What else did you find?"

The gleam in Anna's deep turquoise eyes before she started speaking again was so full of energy and vitality that Elsa wanted to drink it in forever.

"There's this one family who already had  _children_ before they found out they were related - on a radio show, even! Isn't that freaky? And there were no genetic defects or webbed toes or anything like that."

Elsa was almost afraid to ask. "Did they… stay together?"

"You bet they did," she said, voice almost exploding with glee. "Never divorced for any other reason, either. Storybook ending."

"You're very, er, excited about all this research of yours. Might I ask why?"

"What do you mean?" The look on her face was not only quizzical, but hilariously so. "Excited? Aren't you excited? Don't you get what this means?"

Try as she might not to smile, Elsa couldn't help but allow a small and bitter one. "Alright, yes, it's happened before. And I can't pretend it doesn't make me feel a touch better. Still, their situation isn't at  _all_ the same as ours. They had already been married, with children to think of! We've only just shagged a couple of times!"

"Not enough times," Anna tried out seductively. When Elsa looked like she was going to hurl herself out the transparent aluminum of the nearest window, her smile vanished and she whispered, "I'm sorry, I know that wasn't okay to say yet, I- it just kinda came out!"

"You can't make jokes like that right now, alright?"

"Who says I'm joking?"

"Y…" Elsa goggled at her travelling companion. "That was quite the turnaround from yesterday."

"You're so good," Anna said baldly. "Even though I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle the consequences yet… and I know how that makes me sound. Nutso. But I have literally  _never_ had my body feel as awesome as with y-"

"Stop, please," Elsa hissed tearfully.

"No! No, you need to hear this so you remember the good stuff while you're guilting yourself into oblivion, okay? My brain is working just fine, I'm not drunk and I don't have amnesia, so I didn't forget how we were together before we knew we're… before this happened!"

"Don't you think both of us being women was hard enough in the first place? Or you having to deal with my weird body?"

"Perfect body," Anna amended quietly.

"Please stop! Stop being everything I've ever wanted when it's nothing I can actually have!"

The sigh that floated out from Anna's throat was like one from a petulant child being told yet again that she had to pick up her toys. "Who's stopping you besides you?"

"I heard you crying."

That silenced Anna pretty soundly.

"Right. So you can just leave off playacting that this situation doesn't bother you, because… I know it does. It bothers both of us, because we are rational adults. Rational  _related_ adults, Anna!"

"Big deal. This kind of thing has been happening since Biblical times. Ever hear the one about Lot and his daughters? Now  _there's_ a genealogical mess!"

"Do you hear yourself?"

"Reckon I'll mosey on down to Alabama with y'all," Anna drawled in a passable Southern accent. "We can get hitched in them thar parts!"

The only reaction from Elsa was an affronted glare.

"Come on, that was hilarious," Anna prodded her.

"I'm not laughing." Anna imitated a banjo being plucked with both hands and mouth, and Elsa merely pursed her lips and said, "Nope."

"Just try laughing at it a little with me, Elsa?" she pleaded, now gripping Elsa's arm with both of her hands. "When I'm not all pissed off that things turned out this way, it really is kinda funny."

"Anna, I'm never going to think it's funny."

"What if we both like the same kind of latte because of  _genetics?!"_

At the sheer absurdity of this last one, Elsa could only turn to gape at Anna, mouth hanging slightly open. Seizing the opportunity this presented, Anna sat up slightly and kissed the vulnerable bottom lip soundly, drawing it just the tiniest bit between her own before she sat back with a satisfied smile.

"You're cute when you're about to murder me."

"You are… absolutely mental, Snowman." After saying this, she leaned back against her headrest. "Hm… Elsa Snowman."

"What?"

"That would be my name. You know, if our shared parent had stayed with my mother." She rolled it over on her tongue. "Elsa Snowman… Miss Elsa Snowman."

"Mrs Elsa Snowman?"

Despite her best efforts, a blush rose on her cheeks. "Is that you proposing?"

"Duh! Weren't you paying attention when I said we could move to Alabama?"

"You'll have to do  _far_ better, I'm afraid, 'future husband'. You haven't even got down on one knee."

"One knee? In these aisles?"

They both chuckled at that, and Elsa found herself relaxing again. Not entirely, not as wholly and deeply as she might have done before… but relaxing all the same. They weren't broken at all. Tainted and marred, yes; that could not be helped. But the core of their affection for each other was largely the same.

"Did have a thought myself," Elsa offered very timidly. "About… you know."

"Shoot."

"It's only his DNA. Colin's." She shifted uncomfortably, crossing her legs in the opposite direction. "Maybe this is just me being particular about things, but I feel like it would be worse somehow if we had the same mother. Is that utter nonsense?"

"You mean if we had both been in the same womb at different times?" Anna took a minute to think that over. "Now that you mention it… yeah, that would make us look a little skeevier."

Nodding, Elsa took up Anna's hand again, looking down at it. "And to that end, why don't we get a say in who we are to each other? That's an aspect of this that's been irking me since we found out; I had no choice, and neither did you. Our  _parents_ hopped in and out of bed and made rash decisions. Not us."

"Well, some wiseass would probably point out how we moved in together the same day we met," Anna muttered under her breath. Elsa squirmed. "But you're right, that's different! We weren't a- you were just being nice to a poor, destitute businesswoman!"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa said, "I was. And look how that turned out; in Banjo City, as you so succinctly told me moments ago."

"Mm-hmm." Voice pitched low, Anna leaned in on the armrest between them and whispered directly into Elsa's ear, "That first time, when I fed you strawberries and crème fraîche?  _God._  Take me to Banjo City anytime if that's the kind of welcome we'd get there, right?"

It was almost criminal for Anna to bring such a thing up with so many witnesses nearby. She experienced a moment of staggering paranoia, feeling thousands of eyes on her. Then she put a combination of her stepfather and mentor's lessons into effect, blocking out such useless thoughts, focusing on the important matters.

Elsa leaned slightly aside to give Anna a taste of her own medicine, nose tickled by a stray ginger hair as her lips more formed the words on still air than spoke them.

"How would you like to join the 'Mile High Club' today?"

Anna's elbow slipped off the armrest and her forehead bumped into Elsa's shoulder. They both sat up, staring at each other for different reasons: Elsa because Anna had lost all coordination, and Anna from sheer incredulity.

"That got a rise out of you," Elsa said with a grin. "Perhaps now you'll think before you sp-"

"Challenge accepted."

The grin vanished. "You wot?"

"Pound out two 'We Will Rock You's on the door and I'll let you in," she whispered as she unclasped her safety belt and began to rise. "Give it about five minutes for people to forget I'm in there."

"No, I'm- Anna, I was joking, you'll have a long wait if you-"

"Will not," she said with confidence. "You can't resist me, pork chop."

" _P-pork chop?!"_  But her scandalised outcry got no response from the girl ducking between two passengers rummaging in overhead bins.

This could not be coming to pass. It was bad enough that she was a lesbian who recently found out she was mucking about in her own gene pool. Now, they were about to engage in criminal activities together. Thousands of feet above the surface of the planet. This could not be allowed to continue, or soon she'd be lying naked on the White House lawn with some sort of live animal stuck somewhere it most certainly didn't belong.

And yet… Anna was waiting.

Five minutes passed.

"I'm just going to check on my friend," Elsa said amiably to the large man, polite smile on her face. He didn't even acknowledge her. In fact, he seemed to be asleep. Stomach doing somersaults, she rose and made her way down the aisle.

Much to her dismay, a little old lady was standing outside the lavatory doors. Even worse - there were multiple. Two doors. Two lavatories. What was she to do, find a coin to flip? Already, she was ill at ease with this dangerous gambit; she didn't need more obstacles on the course.

One of them banged open, and a dark-skinned gentleman in a suit edged his way clear. The old woman glanced at her as if to say "I was here first" before going in. That suited Elsa fine. Approaching the other door, she hesitated. What was the signal again? Right.

_Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock._

The lock clicked open. That was it. To the rest of the plane, it looked as if Elsa had merely made sure it was empty. Sliding open the latch and hoping no one was keeping a close eye on the comings and goings of those with nervous bladders, she slipped inside and pushed it shut behind her before she - or anybody else - had seen inside.

And found herself trying to occupy the same space as another person.

"Sorry!" Anna whispered. "I didn't realise it would be so  _cramped_ in here!"

"These were designed for half a person," Elsa growled as she turned slightly - and found their noses were touching. "A-ah. Alright?"

"Hey," Anna half-laughed, eyes dark in the muted washroom light. "Welcome to my parlour."

With a vague nod, Elsa began running her hands down Anna's sides, smoothing them over her hips and coming to a rest there. "You are the hunter of the two of us, I'm convinced."

"Actually, you're the corporate assassin, right? Looking at innocent little deer like me as your next target. Next meal." As her lips moved in to brush over Elsa's, she whispered, "This is the hunter getting captured by the game."

When Anna kissed her, she didn't kiss back. After a few seconds, she stopped and drew back - or drew back as much as was possible in the close confines.

"Sorry."

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Anna assured her, completely sober. "Just thought… since you suggested it, that… I'm sorry."

"We're-" A few seconds went by as Elsa tried to gather her thoughts. "It feels like if we go along with this now, after learning what we did yesterday… it's the point of no return, you know? Proceeding with full knowledge. You can understand how I'd be a bit indecisive, can't you?"

"Yeah. But do you want it?"

"Hell yes."

Anna smirked slightly. "You can't get knocked up from me."

"I can't get knocked up at all," she laughed bitterly. "Ever. But… that is true. All consequences are purely mental for us."

One of Anna's hands snaked around to rest lightly on her stomach. "My poor Elsa's womb."

That simple action paired with heartfelt words made heat blossom in all of Elsa's limbs and deep in the pit of her stomach. Those weren't the only locations, of course, but they were where she felt it most strongly in the moments after Anna spoke.

Elsa's lips found Anna's quivering in anticipation of her next movement by the time she acted on her impulses, nearly diving against Anna with the slight pitch of turbulence to speed her along, landing them on the toilet seat. That was how she found herself straddling Anna's knee, both thankful and cursing that she had worn slacks today. Hands wound into Anna's braided bun, loosening it, turning it wild as nails raked down the back of Elsa's blouse, scoring her through the thin silk.

A thousand reasons to desist with this madness immediately swept through Elsa's mind as she started to roll Anna's loose cotton shirt up and over her chest, as she pulled back just enough to discard it before throwing herself against the newly-topless woman once more. They were all sorted into a file folder marked "For Later Review".

The vibrations of the plane were going to make short work of Elsa's orgasm, she could already tell. Her unique anatomy made her especially sensitive to such things - when applied directly to it, that is. As she began to roll her hips slightly, Anna pulled back from the kiss with a slight giggle.

"Can't wait for me?"

"Don't know… what you mean," she panted quietly, mouth hanging open between words. "You're right here, aren't you? Certainly…  _feels_ like you are!"

"Elsa," Anna breathed, voice full of both desire and affection. "God, if you had any idea how you sound right now…"

Out of either desire or mercy, Anna reengaged their lips with great force, holding the elder woman close as she rode her companion, breath falling hotter and faster from her nostrils for lack of other exit. Release was sudden and jarring. Normally, she could last longer than that, but between the thrill of flouting the rules, the forbidden fruit factor and how purely eager she was to be with the woman who had become her entire world…

"W-wow!" Anna was trying her best not to say it too loud, but her sheer amazement was making that almost impossible. "That was, um… you came like a freight train!"

A weak nod as her head leaned against another. "My… my apologies, Anna."

"Don't; it was beautiful. I just… holy shit."

"Mmm." When she pulled back, she had her breathing somewhat under control, and favoured the redhead with a lewd grin. "And now…"

"Now?" As Elsa began to sink slowly to the floor, hands moving to the hem of Anna's skirt, she whispered, "Ohhh,  _now._ Y-yes, I remember 'now' being in the coming attractions."

"Attraction is without question," Elsa breathed between Anna's knees. "The coming part… I'll see to it, my pet."

It seemed Anna no longer trusted herself to speak. Elsa was granted an extremely pleasant view from where she crouched; thighs, smooth stomach, a white, lacy brassiere. Freckle-dusted shoulders. Anna's flawless face, partly anxious, partly ravenous.

No, that wasn't quite right. Elsa was the ravenous one, and she was about to prove that true.

"A-are you sure?" Anna breathed as a pale hand began to brush against her through her panties. Black, Elsa noted with bemusement. "Because if you're going to do what I think you're going to do-"

Elsa drew back just enough so Anna could see her eyebrows lift. "And what might you think that is?" Anna didn't answer. "Well?"

"Give me head?" When Elsa laughed, Anna kicked her in the back. "Shut up, you jerk!"

"You've put it so eloquently, though!"

"I've never been the recipient of head before, okay? I don't have some huge list of smarty-pants words for that!"

"Come off it," Elsa whispered as she smoothed her hands over Anna's thighs before returning to tuck the crotch of her underwear aside. "Never, even once? I find that difficult to believe." No answer. Elsa's smile slipped. "Not even your  _husband?!_ What sort of selfish jackass-"

"Let's not, okay? We've already gone over it enough; he sucked."

"Or didn't, as it were."

At that joke, Anna literally gasped. They both giggled, but Anna's laughter changed in pitch when Elsa's hand found its way home. "A-ah! Wow, right to the… yeah, I guess we don't have much time!"

"We won't need much. Hang onto your hat."

"I'm not wearing a h- _hhAAAAHhhhhh!"_

What Elsa noticed during the next few minutes was not so much her own actions; those were old practice and a second nature to her by now. Instead, she focused on just precisely how sweet her Anna was - and not figuratively. There was an actual sweetness to her. Whether it was natural or derived from diet, she couldn't say. There had never been a woman so perfectly formed and soft, her sensitive tongue attested. The further along they got, the further back Anna leaned, the higher her legs shifted, until ballet flats were sliding down Elsa's back to thump against the floor behind her. To her even greater surprise, she felt bunching at the fabric of her shirt; it had been a long time since a woman had been driven so wild by Elsa Froiland's aptitude for cunnilingus that her toes literally curled.

Guilt tried to assert itself again in the final moments. Who Anna was to her, and the implications of what she was doing in the here and now. But she forced herself not to care. Later that night, when she was alone and unable to sleep, it would likely haunt her. In the interim, she had a partner and dear friend who was begging for release.

Which she got.

"OhhhhhhHHhh," Anna sighed throatily as she slowly spiralled down from the heights of joy. "God, you're a… how do you  _do_ that?!"

"Keep your voice down," Elsa hissed, though she was laughing too hard for the reprimand to sound truly stern.

"Keep it down? I want to roll down the windows and start screaming at people about how intense that was!"

"You do remember we're in an airplane, don't you?"

It was actually quite sexy the way Anna's thighs rubbed together on either side of Elsa's neck, and Elsa felt her desire building yet again. Easy enough to bottle, of course; she had just been sated. However, she couldn't resist turning aside to nip lightly at the tender flesh beside her head, earning her a started squeak from the redhead.

"Elsa, you're incredible," she giggled. One of her arms limply reached down for Elsa's face but couldn't quite reach; she was too fatigued to manage and too happy to care very deeply. Elsa handed her the shirt that she had discarded before, but Anna replied by lifting her bra to expose her glistening chest instead. When Elsa averted her eyes to pick up her shoes and slip them back on, Anna's feet were suddenly cupping Elsa's face.

"Having fun, are we?" Elsa snorted, words slightly muffled from the way her cheeks were being smooshed together.

"Tons." Then she booped Elsa's nose with her big toe before letting out another sigh of pure contentment. "Wow, I… everything feels so good right now. Is it supposed to feel this good every time, have I been doing it wrong?"

Elsa snorted again as she stuffed one shoe onto her half-coherent lover. "Far be it from me to question the methods of you or your previous partners, but… perhaps so. For goodness sake, will you put that shirt on?"

"No." Elsa reached up and pinched her hard on her backside and Anna literally had to stuff her face into the shirt to muffle her scream. "Geez, Elsa, you can't do that!"

"Aww, poor thing. Hurt your baby bottom too much?"

"Felt too good! You'll have to start all over if you keep it up!" When Elsa merely shook her head and tried to put the other shoe on, Anna started jerking her leg to counteract her efforts. "Apologise!"

Elsa tried to look stern. It was pretty impossible to do with a flushed Anna looking faux-smug, bra askew and hair disheveled. "We don't have time for games now, someone's bound to come calling for the loo any moment!"

"Say you're sorry." When Elsa merely stared at her blandly, Anna shoved her foot in her face. "Kiss it and say you're sorry for pinching."

"This is ridiculous. You should be apologising for flashing me!"

"Then I won't put my shirt on," Anna threatened. "We'll have to stay in this cubbyhole for the rest of the flight if you don't you apolh…"

The younger woman had not been expecting Elsa to actually comply, it seemed, as evidenced by her words tapering off. Even less so for Elsa to press her lips against the end of each toe, eyes locked with Anna's all the while.

"Wha… are you nuts?"

"Well," Elsa breathed as she pushed the shoe on, a mirthful glint in her eyes, "that sufficiently distracted you enough for me to finish the job. Doesn't sound that 'nuts' to me if it works."

"But you kissed my stinky foot." Anna was blushing so deeply that her ears were scarlet. "I… you didn't really have to do that, I was kidding."

While sliding up and over Anna's knees to tower over her, Elsa slowly and lazily licked her lips, staring straight down into her blue-green eyes. "Firstly, given where my mouth was a minute ago, I can't imagine you really see this as that baffling. Secondly… I would gladly kiss any part of you. Anytime. Anywhere. Now you know that to be irrefutable fact."

Her index fingers slid lazily over Anna's nipples while trailing down, prompting a quiet gasp before she hitched the bra back into place. Then arms were wrapping around her back and drawing her downward.

"Ah!" Elsa giggled once their mouths were inches apart. "But I'll taste Anna-flavoured, love. In multiple ways."

"See how much I care."

It seemed like their lips had scarcely met when they heard an impatient knock at the door. The placement of the clouds outside the window behind Anna indicated otherwise.

"Dammit," Anna breathed, trying not to laugh. "What do we do?"

"Aren't you the mastermind of this scheme? You think of something!"

"Shirt, shirt!"

The knock came again while Anna was struggling into it. "Leave off!" Elsa snapped through the door.

"Hurry up in there!"

"Sod you!"

Finally, they were both dressed and Anna's hair resembled something orderly, though it was still a bit untamed. Elsa used a bit of toilet paper to clear the rest of Anna's essence from her face. When Anna turned a panicked look at her, shrugging both shoulders, Elsa held up a finger before moving to the miniature sink. Anna gasped slightly when she was slapped in the face with a handful of cold water.

"Shhh," Elsa warned as quietly as she could manage. "Now look sickly."

"What?"

"This is not the time to second-guess me! Just do it!"

When they slid back the catch and the lavatory opened, a roundish Asian woman took a surprised step back when more than one person exited. Anna was already coughing and allowing herself to be half-dragged out into the aisle.

"Sorry," Elsa breathed to the flabbergasted lady. "Hope you haven't had the fish, have you?"

Rather than answer, the woman cautiously peered into the room they had vacated, as if worried they had been reenacting  _The Exorcist_ in there.

Upon regaining their seats, Anna leaned in and whispered, "Can you believe we just did that? We're like, rebels or something!"

"Delinquents," Elsa confirmed as she straightened her blouse, glancing back and forth. "Deviants, perverts… however you want to paint this, clearly there's something off about the pair of us."

"Oh, come on, you had fun."

"We both had fun! That was the general idea! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean we  _ought_ to have had it - this was still extremely risky! Not to mention unsanitary!"

Clearly, Anna had struggled not to roll her eyes, but ended up doing so. "You were the one who just  _had_ to actually kiss my foot, genius, so I don't wanna hear it."

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "That's not what I meant - we were in the  _loo!"_

"So?!"

"Do you know what people typically  _do_ in there?"

"No idea," Anna sighed as she settled back against her seat. "Maybe the worldlywise Madame Froiland should explain these things to poor, dumb me."

"You and I have both heard the tales of how men can't seem to  _aim -_ and I'll hazard a guess that, since you've lived with one before, there's some firsthand experience you're pretending to forget!" Grinding her teeth, she added, "And you made me kneel in that!"

"Weird; I don't seem to remember a gun being held to your head… while you gave it."

Finally seeming to catch on that Anna was teasing her, Elsa harrumphed and leaned in close, her index finger tracing a line of electricity along her companion's forearm. "Next time, perhaps you'll kiss my feet for a change."

"Oh, the hell I will!"

"Sure, you proclaim that now, but I wonder if you might change your tune once I have you tied up and naked, sobbing brokenly for release?"

Suddenly, Anna's cheeks were redder than her freckles again, and Elsa was grinning mischievously. Neither of them could tell if the threat was entirely hollow.

"H-hh…" She cleared her throat to try again. "How long until we land again?"

_\- To Be Continued -_


End file.
